The Kogi governorship candidate for All Progressives Grand Alliance, Kingsley Ilona, has warned political gladiators in the race for the November 11 gubernatorial election not to throw the state into chaos, saying nobody has a monopoly for violence.
This was even as Ilona remained upbeat he is the most prepared of the 18 contestants to lead Kogi out of its impoverished state.
The warning is coming in the wake of the violent confrontation between the security details of Governor Yahaya Bello and the convoy of Social Democratic Party candidate, Murtala Ajaka.
Bello had in a statement signed by his Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, alleged that his convoy was blocked and attacked by gunmen suspected to be Ajaka’s supporters a few kilometres from Lokoja.
The governor claimed the armed thugs started shooting sporadically at his convoy after they sighted him.
But SDP spokesman, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, denied the allegation, saying it wasn’t a true reflection of what happened.
Addressing journalists at a media parley in Abuja, the APGA candidate sued for peace, saying violence is not an option to win an election.
He said, “We encourage peaceful election. In all my campaigns and everything I do, I tell people it must be free and fair. This is what we must do if we’re truly going to serve the people.
“Let’s not encourage violence like what happened some days ago between the SDP candidate and the Kogi governor. I was not there and don’t know what actually happened. But from both sides of the story, one will take it with a pinch of salt.
“There is an Igala adage that says ‘even a madman knows masquerades.’ Have you seen where a madman tells himself he won’t run when he sees a madman coming? He will run. If you don’t run, the masquerade will flog you.
“So I don’t think it is possible that a governor will be coming into his own domain, like our own white lion returning to his den, and some unscrupulous people will stand by the road. I don’t want to pass any judgment. It is possible that when you have a large convoy, some supporters may become unruly.
“But whatever it is, I think it is condemnable. We should try to do the right thing. But the warning is simple. Nobody has a monopoly on violence. Nobody can intimidate anybody in Kogi. An election must be free and fair.
“So we expect that the government in power, our governor the leader of the state, as well as all candidates in Kogi East and Kogi Central, will preach the same message. It is a contest. I am coming to serve the people, not steal from them. Why will you want to kill people because of the election? I am totally against it and won’t support it.
“Only God Almighty already knows what’s going to happen on November 11. The division among the opposition, for me, is a wake-up call for us to sit up and put our heads together.”
