The Nigeria Police has cancelled the planned zonal meeting/rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fixed for Kontagora town in Niger State on Saturday. The police had, earlier in the week, conveyed the decision through a letter in which it claimed that “due to youth restiveness in the state, all political rallies have been suspended until the security situation improves.”
In reaction, the PDP assured the security agency that party members have always been law abiding and will not do anything that will truncate the peace of the state and in particular the Niger North senatorial zone. However, the Police in another letter, according to reports, maintained that all rallies had been banned in the state.
The two letters were signed on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Paul Yakadi, by the Chief Superintendent of Police (Admin) Adamu Yusuf. Reacting to the second letter, the zonal chairman of the party, Yahaya Abdullahi, said that the police was playing the script of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The party is not surprised a bit by the reason advanced in the commissioner of police letter. “We have received privileged information before his letter reached us that the ruling APC in the state will do everything within its means to ask the police to prevent us from holding the meeting/rally at Kontagora the home town of the state governor.
“We wish to reiterate our position here that as citizens of this great country (Nigeria) and members of PDP we are entitled to security cover. “The alleged reason of youth restiveness in the state given by the police to stop the rally is quite vague and unspecified and cannot reasonably be a ground to prevent the PDP from holding its meeting/rally at Kontagora since there is neither a conflict of venue nor crisis in Kontagora,” he said.
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