The Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, has threatened litigation action against those accusing him of ballot box snatching.
INEC
Abdullahi issued the threat on Wednesday while fielding questions from newsmen in Lafia on the conduct of the APC chairmanship primary elections in the state.
The speaker was allegedly behind the saga of ballot snatching during the chairmanship primary election of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Toto Local Government Area of the stateon April.
Reacting to the allegation, Abdullahi described it as not only false but unfounded and baseless lie created by his enemies who do not wish him well in his political career.
“Hon. Nuhu Dauda, one of the chairmanship aspirants, was leading and his opponents were no longer comfortable and resolved in throwing stones and other dangerous weapons to all categories of people who were present at the venue.
“Journalists, you may wish to conduct further investigation and I assure you that you will find my statement to be true.
“As a number three citizen of Nasarawa state, how will I snatch ballot box meant for election where there is adequate security on ground.
“The election was going on smoothly before some people went and mobilised their thugs to disrupt the process which is unfortunate and a threat to our electoral process.
“What I always preach is free, fair and credible election. Let the electorate, the delegates decide who will be their local government chairman,’’ said the speaker.
He emphasised that delegates from his Umaisha/Ugya constituency justified his acceptance by his people.
“Delegates from my constituency are on ground for me to the justification of everybody there. Did I need to snatch ballot box before winning election, the answer is no,’’ Abdullahi said.
Meanwhile, the speaker has reassured of the assembly’s commitment to continue to enact laws for good governance in the state.
The APC chairmanship primary election in Toto local government area of the state was disrupted by unknown youths.
The state Independent Electoral Commission (NANSIEC) has fixed May 26 for the conduct of the local government council election in the state. (NAN)