I didn’t step down for anybody – Kaduna LP gov’ship candidate

The Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Jonathan Asake, has said he is still in the race to the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House and has not stepped down for any candidate.

Asake, stated this in a media parley with newsmen in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Headquarter of the state while reacting to some allegations raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against him.

He briefed the newsmen about the allegation of mismanaging the Wike funds meant for internally displaced persons in the southern part of the state.

He said: “As soon as I picked the gubernatorial ticket of the Labour Party in July 2022, all hell broke loose in the PDP in Kaduna State.”

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He said the state PDP Chairman, Hassan Hyet accused him of taking the N120m Wike funds which Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State donated to the IDPs in Southern Kaduna through the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) when he was the President of the union.

“When the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of SOKAPU submitted my handover report to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of SOKAPU, the report showed that we made purchases of relieve materials worth almost N60m. And I left N60,954,000, which was widely reported in the media. As I made progress in my campaign, more allegations kept coming up especially by the PDP,” he said.

Asake also debunked the rumour that he was sponsored by Uba Sani, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, with N100 million to split the votes of Southern Kaduna so that the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC would be sustained.

“They are using the network of CAN and some churches; they went about spreading falsehood against me.

“I challenge anyone including El-Rufa’i and Uba Sani and the entire PDP to come up with a shred of evidence that we ever met, not to talk of collecting money from any of them.

“My main aim of contesting is to exercise my constitutional right, win election and provide effective and exemplary leadership for the people of Kaduna state as captured in my manifestos and the manifesto of our great party, the LP,” he added.