Bauchi: APC, PDP bicker over teargas incidence at Tribunal

Bauchi State chapters of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have accused each other on the skirmishes that led to the firing of teargas by Police during the state’s Election Petitions Tribunal sitting.

The APC, in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Adamu Aliyu Jallah, accused the PDP of masterminding the incident by allegedly hiring miscreants to display the behaviour targeted at members of the tribunal in the presence of Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed.

“APC, as a law abiding party that believes in the tenets of rule of law and discipline, wishes to condemn the unruly behaviour exhibited at the Tribunal premises by PDP thugs and their sponsors for a hatchet plan against the rule of law.

“The party also wishes to state unequivocally that as a disciplined and organised entity, it shall continue to operate within the ambit of the law and shall do everything possible within its power to maintain its status as a responsible and responsive entity the detests violence,” the party added.

The party also supported the request of its counsel for the relocation of the Governorship Election Tribunal to “a more convenient and safer location anywhere within Nigeria for the safety of the Tribunal members for the dispensation of justice”.

It added that no amount of intimidation, threats and frustration by the PDP and the unpatriotic elements can twist the arms of the law for selfish interests.

However, the PDP dismissed APC’s allegation as baseless and unfounded.

Speaking to our reporter on telephone, the State PDP spokesperson, Yayanuwa Zainabari, said the APC is clutching at straws because of its seeming hopelessness at the tribunal.

” Why would the PDP resort to lawlessness in Bauchi? We have the government and we are responsible for the safety and security of our citizens.

“We are also confident about what is going on at the tribunal because we won our election. What we know is that, the tribunal will ensure justice, so there is no need for going out of the law to achieve anything. APC is just trying to hide its failures and planned sabotage,” he said.

It could be recalled that a verbal assault and fisticuffs between APC and PDP supporters during the tribunal sitting in Bauchi led to the firing of teargas which temporarily disrupted proceedings.