The Taraba Independent Peace Committee expressed concern on Tuesday about threats of violence in several local government areas, despite a peace accord signed by 14 governorship candidates ahead of Saturday’s governorship and state House of Assembly elections. At a press briefing in Jalingo, the committee’s chairman, Prof. Talla Ngarka, condemned attacks on the convoys of some political parties in Takum and Wukari and urged all political actors to play by the rules.
“We have received reports of attacks on party convoys in Wukari and Takum, and we are disturbed by these developments so close to the election,” Ngarka said. “Independent monitors working with the Initiative for Community and Human Development in Taraba State also report threats of violence in Donga, Wukari, Takum, Yorro, Gassol and Jalingo.” He appealed to all governorship candidates, party chairpersons, political stakeholders, religious and traditional leaders to persuade their supporters to give peace a chance before, during, and after the elections.
The chairman emphasized that the committee and the Kukah Centre Secretariat of the National Peace Committee are not law‑enforcement agencies, but they are committed to a peaceful society and will share any intelligence about threats linked to politicians or parties with the relevant security forces. Ngarka also noted that the intervention of the National Peace Committee and the tireless efforts of the Taraba Peace Committee helped ensure a peaceful outcome in the recently concluded presidential election in Taraba State, with no outbreaks of violence anywhere in the state.
Comments are closed for this story.