A former Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Walid Jibrin has said that Governor Sule Abdullahi of Nasarawa State knows that he did not win the March 18, 2023, governorship election.
The Nasarawa governorship election petition tribunal had in its judgement delivered recently sacked Abdullahi as governor.
The tribunal declared the PDP governorship candidate, David Ombugadu as the duly elected governor.
According to Jibrin, who spoke during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Sule’s attempt to give a religious colouration to the tribunal judgment is wrong and unfounded.
He stated that Sule and everyone in Nasarawa State and Nigeria was fully aware that Sule did not win the election and therefore should not be governor against the will of the people and the law.
He explained that the sad attempt to divide the judiciary on religious lines would destroy the only institution that remains the last hope of the common man.
He emphasized, “It is therefore very shocking that instead of accepting the widely anticipated verdict of the tribunal, Governor Sule had decided to plead religion as reason why he won’t leave office for Dr. David Ombugadu of the PDP who is the true winner of the 18 March 2023 governorship election in Nasarawa State,” he said.
Jibrin added that he is a devout Muslim and an elder of over 70 years and expressed shocked at Sule’s attempt to blame his defeat on religion rather than the overwhelming facts before God and all Nigerians which show clearly that he didn’t win the election.
He warned Nigerians to be wary of the politics of religion as it is capable of destroying the country.
According to him, Nasarawa State is made up of Muslims and Christians almost in equal numbers, stressing that Ombugadu will be the first Christian to govern the State since inception in 1996.
He believed that it is a beautiful opportunity to unite the state for peace, good governance, and democracy.