Why Aishatu Dahiru cannot use Ribadu Square for a campaign
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Adamawa, Aishatu Dahiru Binani, will not be allowed to use the Mahmud Ribadu Square, Yola, for her campaign next Monday, the state government has said.
On Monday, Mrs Dahiru will start her campaign for governor in the city of Yola.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), requested the use of the stadium for the campaign.
The state government, instead, has directed the APC and its governorship candidate to make use of another stadium—the Jimeta Township Stadium or choose a later date.
“The construction company handling the renovation of Ribadu Square is set to resume work after the Yuletide, which coincidentally clashes with the date chosen by the All Progressive Congress governorship candidate.
Because of this, the contractor won’t be able to meet the deadline for finishing the project, said Humwashi Wonosikou, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor. He said this in a statement released on Monday.
“For the record, the government has graciously approved Mahmud Ribadu Square to the national campaign team of APC for its presidential campaign rally in Yola on the 18th of January, 2023, which will have the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, in attendance.
Every Adamawa resident can attest to the fact that Ribadu Square is undergoing renovation, and the contractors are billed to return to the site on the 7th of January, 2023, to complete work before the APC Presidential campaign after the Christmas and New Year break in order to make the venue most befitting for Mr President, who is a state visitor.
Be aware that the same government gave the Social Democratic Party permission to hold a presidential campaign rally there last year.
It is not in our character to deny any party the use of Mahmud Ribadu Square after having allowed other political parties to use the square, and one wonders where such allegations are coming from.
For the sake of clarity, the Adamawa State Urban Planning and Development Authority received the APC’s request to use the venue for the start of their governorship campaign on December 27, 2022, which was a public holiday, on December 28. On Friday, December 30, a reply was sent to the applicants, telling them that the suggested date will not be available because the government of Adamawa State had already started renovations.
As a result, the APC was asked to choose another date after January 18th for its campaign kickoff, but instead, the APC chose to sensationalise and trivialise the whole thing for sympathy shopping, which is distasteful.
Construction workers, as is customary, take Christmas and New Year’s leave around mid-December and return to work the first week of January, resulting in the availability of the venue during this period of their break, which was utilised by the good people of Adamawa State and made available by the state government, contrary to the insinuations and cheap propaganda peddled by some miscreants.
Under the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, the government of Adamawa State is still committed to giving all political parties in the state the same chances, since it is thought that every candidate is passionate about the development of the state.
Mr Wonosioku said the explanation became necessary because “political actors and commentators” in the state were trying to use the issue to pit the state government against the candidate of the APC in Adamawa.
The chief press secretary went further to say that the annual state-sponsored new year’s night in Yola took place in Ribadu Square, as contractors handling the renovation were on a break as of January 1st, 2023.
The chief press secretary added, “The stadium from its inception has not been renovated in over 30 years.”
“They had closed for the year and proceeded on vacation (as has been their usual practice) and are due to resume on January 7, 2023. The implication of this is that the technical capacity required to activate the venue is currently unavailable, and this is not within our control.
“However, the state government has approved the use of the Yola Township Stadium as an alternative venue for the event. “We guarantee that the approved venue is in perfect condition,” he said.