The All Progressives Congress on Monday accused the Peoples Democratic Party of inciting the violence that followed Sunday’s announcement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the new Emir of Kano.
The party urged the Kano State Attorney-General to prosecute all PDP officials involved in the acts to destabilize the state.
APC in a statement issued in Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the statement issued by PDP’s publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, congratulating one of the contenders long before the state government announced the new Emir was “premeditated and calibrated to incite violence.”
The party wondered why a ruling party, which has access to Kano or any state government, would rush to the media to congratulate a contender who had not been selected, without even contacting the selecting authority to ensure the veracity of whatever news it may have heard.
”What is so urgent about congratulating the new Emir that could not have waited for a few hours for the appropriate authority to make an official announcement?” it queried.
The party continued: “When the announcement was eventually made and the contender who had already been congratulated lost out, it is only natural that his supporters would feel shortchanged.
”It is therefore obvious that the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary went out of their way to stoke the fire of violence in Kano.
”Since we live in a country which is being governed by the rule of law, the best option open to the Kano State government is for the State Attorney-General to immediately initiate criminal proceedings against PDP and its officials for incitement. Whatever explanations they have for their irresponsible and premeditated actions they should reserve for their defence in court.”