By Giwa SHILE
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi has cautioned against the massive deployment of security personnel for the July 14, governorship poll in Ekiti state to check voter apathy.
Deputy State Chairman of the party, Chief Sam Abenemi, said this on Friday in Lokoja while speaking journalists on the sideline of PDP protest against Wednesday attack on Gov. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state.
The protesters went round the major streets of Lokoja, the state capital and later assembled at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to register their grievances.
Abenemi called on the Federal Government to allow for level playing ground in the Ekiti governorship poll.
He appealed to the authorities of the Nigeria Police to prevail on personnel of the force, deployed in Ekiti for the poll, not to meddle in political matters.
He said: “The Nigeria Police has proved its mettle in peace-keeping in Africa and beyond and should therefore not allow itself to become a clog in the wheel of democracy in Nigeria.
“It appears that the number of police being deployed in Ekiti may out-number the voters,” he said.
The party chieftain, who decried the spate of killings of innocent Nigerians in different parts of the country, called on the Federal government to arrest the negative development.
Also speaking, Alhaji Suleiman Babadoko, former member of the Kogi House of Assembly, also expressed strong disapproval of the attack on Fayose.
Babadoko said: “An injury to one is an injury to all because this can happen to anybody, anywhere in the country.”
Idris Abubakar-Lokoja, former chairman of Lokoja Local Government Area, said the attack on Fayose desecrated the office of the governor and described the development as a threat to democracy.
He called on Nigerians, especially the media, to rise in defence of the nation democracy.
It Would be recalled that the protesters carried placards with different inscriptions, such as “Democracy is about to be kidnapped in Ekiti,” “No to police brutality in politics” and “Ekiti election must be free and fair”, among others.
