Governor Muhammadu Yahaya has pledged a peaceful and fair primary election process across all political parties in Gombe State, warning that troublemakers will face the full force of the law.
In a statewide broadcast, the governor said his priority remained the security and wellbeing of the people.
“The stability of Gombe State is bigger than the ambition of any politician or political party. As a product of this same political process, I myself have passed through primaries and run in general elections several times,” Governor Yahaya said.
The broadcast comes shortly after Governor Yahaya, presided over a State Security Council Meeting, in a proactive move aimed at ensuring the peaceful and hitch-free conduct of political party primaries across the state.
The high-level security meeting was attended by heads of security agencies and other critical stakeholders to review the security situation and strategize on measures to maintain law and order before, during and after the forthcoming primary elections.
He insisted that the will of the people must prevail and that direct primaries would offer every aspirant a fair and transparent platform to seek party members’ mandates.
However, the Governor raised the alarm about “unpatriotic politicians and conflict entrepreneurs” seeking to exploit the primaries to ignite chaos, with some already revealing their intentions.
He issued a warning over his administration’s zero-tolerance stance on violence, lawlessness and political rascism, stating that any individual or group found responsible for breaches of law and order, before, during or after the primaries, would face severe legal consequences.
Governor Yahaya reminded all stakeholders that elections come and go, but Gombe State endures.
He noted that since its creation in 1996, the state had enjoyed relative peace and stability, despite the crisis affecting the North-East sub-region and the wider northern Nigeria, an achievement he attributed to collective vigilance, unity in diversity, and strict adherence to the rule of law.
The Governor said he intended to jealously guard this hard-earned stability, calling on all parties and individual aspirants to put the state’s interests first.
He recalled that the All Progressives Congress, APC, Elders’ Committee and State Executive Committee had attempted in good faith to explore a consensus option, but complete agreement proved impossible due to disagreements from a few aspirants.
