BY WILLIAM ATTAH, GOMBE – The Gombe State chapter of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has raised an alarm that the spate of political violence in the State could spell doom for the 2023 elections.
Gombe State Coordinator of CNG, Comrade Muhammad Ibrahim said the seeming consistency in the occurrence of political violence has unfortunately claimed so many innocent lives with property worth several millions of Naira destroyed in the process.
The Coalition noted with utter dismay that there are many instances still fresh in Gombe people’s minds, citing the clash in November 2021 between two political factions in Gombe town that resulted in the loss of lives and properties.
Expressing its concerns in a statement made available to journalists in Gombe, the CNG said; “We want to note that those who were casualties in the incident were 100 per cent youths. Again, this year on 22nd January 2022, a similar incident happened in Funakaye Local Government Area where there was an attack that resulted in the destruction of properties between two major political parties in the State, that is, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”
The Coalition, which condemned the act and its perpetrators, also called for patriotism among political actors and stakeholders, saying; “We also want to call on the Government, the security agencies and all stakeholders to bring to an end this consistent political violence that is gradually ravaging the State at the moment.
The statement also said; “We wish to call on the youths of Gombe State to shun all kinds of political violence and avoid being used by political parties and politicians as political thugs and mercenaries for political ambition which is more or less selfish and not in any way to the youth’s interest or for the good of the masses.
“Lastly, we want to call on all political parties to adhere to the constitution to be patriotic and to avoid engaging in political violence or use of the youths for their own political ambition”, Comrade Ibrahim said.
