Again, Taraba On Fire Over Supplementary Election

Bfew days after the Taraba State government lifted ban on the dusk to dawn curfew imposed in Jalingo the state capital, following the mayhem that erupted shortly after the declaration of Governor Darius Dickson lshaku as winner, peace has again eluded the people of Ussa Local government council of the state. The crisis, which erupted on Friday, was said to have been necessitated by the supplementary election scheduled for today in the council. As at the time of filing in this report, several houses have been set ablaze by angry supporters of two of the contending political parties. An eye witness who told our reporter that the crises was between the supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) said persons domiciling the council have flee the area wondering if the said supplementary election would hold

But in a swift reaction, a senior staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the “election will definitely take place because all the sensitive materials are already on ground.”

Security operative as made known by the senior staff of the commission, who spoke under anonymity, “have given us all the assurance that normalcy would be restore before tomorrow.”

He was also optimistic that persons who flee the crisis area would turn up the next day to “come and vote for the candidate of their choice. Confirming the unrest, the member representing Ussa, Takum, Donga at the National Assembly, Rimam Shawulu, said council had not witness this type of mayhem before.

Wondering what compelled the people, who have been living peacefully together, to indulge in such acts, he admonished them to give peace a chance as that according to him would herald the much needed development to the area.

When reached for comments the telephone numbers of the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) were not going through, but a senior police officer in the command confirmed that the command is aware of “the destructions going on in Ussa by supporters of some of the political parties.”