From Paul Orude, Bauchi
The Women Wing of Labour Party LP, in Bauchi State has condemned the call for the arrest of the Vice Presidential candidate of the party Ahmed Datti.
Minister of state for State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo called for Dattis arrest for saying that the All Progressives Congress’ Ahmed Tinubu should not be sworn in as President.
Datti argued that Tinubu should not be sworn in when pending issues that border on election irregularities which produced him as president-elect were properly addressed by the courts.
Keyamo found Datti’s opinion a threat to national security, calling for his arrest in a television programme on Thursday
Reacting to the development Chairperson of Women Wing of LP in Bauchi, Hajara Moses John in a press conference on Friday in Bauchi described Keyamo’s call for arrest of Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed as mischievous and malicious.
“We expect Festus Keyamo who is a lawyer to have jettisoned power drunkenness and come to terms with the opinion of our much respected vice presidential candidate who was only exercising freedom of expression as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution,”she said.
Moses said the Minister’s call in a television program on Thursday over Datti’s stand on the outcome of the presidential election was done in bad faith and ill- timed considering the fact that “the election was characterized by Irregularities in so many states and our party was rigged out in the process”
According to the Chairperson of the LP Women Wing, “it is fresh in the memory of Nigerians that our party which was underrated by the so called biggest party for being structureless turned out to be a nightmare to the ruling APC not only during the presidential and National assembly elections but the just concluded Governorship and States assembly elections in which our party won a Governorship seat and many seats in both National and state assemblies”
She described the feat as a ‘proof of our Presidential candidate and his running mate’s popularity and goodwill among the people of Nigeria, especially the youth and the downtrodden”
“We are very sure that Keyamo’s vituperation is not unconnected with the fear that his pay masters would lose in court and our stolen mandate given back to us.
“Keyamo knows that anyone who traverses the length and breadth of Nigeria will be bewildered by the acceptance of our Presidential candidate and his running mate by the good people of Nigeria.
“It is because Nigerians so much believe in Obi/Datti visionary leadership and courage to dare things seeming too difficult to confront that made them trooped out en mass to various polling units across the country to vote for them as president and vice president respectively.
“As Minister of state for labour and employment he should have exercise more restraint and focus more of his energy in seeing how to resolve the lingering or the impending problem between ASUU, Labour and the federal government, so that our workers and especially our poor innocent students will not end up paying the price.
“It is therefore self-serving for Keyamo to call for the arrest of men Nigerians generally believe are men of character, competence and charisma whose footprint are visible to see and feel even at the International scene.
“The call by His Excellency, Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba Ahmed should be applauded rather than attempting to create an atmosphere of rancor that may dis-stabilize the country and shortchange the judiciary, which Labour Party has confidence in, the opportunity to deliver justice in favor of our Presidential candidate and the Labour Party.
“We wish to remind Keyamo and his fans that Labour Party remains resolute on its call for justice regarding the just concluded general elections”