Daily Trust

Niger gov lied about calling me –Senator elect Let’s do it again, APC guber candidate tells Gombe residents

- From Aliyu M. Hamagam, Minna From Adamu Saleh, Gombe

The senator-elect for Nigereast senatorial zone, Barrister David Umaru, yesterday refuted the governor’s claim that he refused to pick his call when he wanted to congratula­te him, saying it is false and mischievou­s. Umaru defeated Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu in last Saturday’s election for Niger-east senatorial zone.

Governor Aliyu on Wednesday told journalist­s that he called Barrister David Umaru seven times to concede defeat and congratula­te him, but that the latter did not pick the call. He alleged that after that, he sent a text massage saying “this is chief servant”, but still no response.

But yesterday, the senatorele­ct refuted the governor’s claim in a statement issued to newsmen in Minna, saying he did not have the governor’s number and as such could not have ignored his call.

“My attention has been drawn to media reports credited to Dr. Babangida Aliyu claiming that I refused to pick his telephone calls. He also claimed to have sent text messages which were not replied. Ordinarily I would not have responded to these false claims knowing the pedigree of the person. However, I would want the public to note that Babangida Aliyu’s claims are false and mischievou­s. I therefore urge the general public to disregard same. I must clarify that I did not receive any text message from him. I would like Aliyu to know that I understand how one feels when one is faced with this kind of situation. However, it is not necessary to personalis­e such issues since what has happened is an act of God,” he added. The All Progressiv­e Congress (APC) gubernator­ial candidate in Gombe State, Muhammed Inuwa Yahaya, has commended people of the state and Nigerians for the orderly manner in which they conducted

themselves during the presidenti­al and National Assembly elections.

Yahaya, who spoke with newsmen yesterday, called on people of the state not to relent, but come out en masse during the gubernator­ial election and vote for him and those contesting for the state Assembly under the party.

He noted that Buhari’s victory is a milestone in the nation’s democratic process.

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