Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, has urged residents of the state to contribute their quota towards the development and progress of Taraba.

The governor made the call on Tuesday in a goodwill message to the Muslim Ummah ahead of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

The message was conveyed through his Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communications, Emmanuel Bello.

Kefas appealed to the people to uphold unity and avoid actions capable of creating division along religious lines.

“Let us therefore contribute in any little way we can towards building a Taraba of our choice,” the governor stated.

He noted that Taraba remains the collective heritage of all residents, stressing the need for citizens to work together to promote unity, security, peace, and development across the state.

According to the governor, the Sallah celebration comes at a time when many families are facing economic difficulties and have limited opportunities to spend quality time together. He described the festival as an opportunity for families, friends, and communities to reunite and share love.

Kefas also urged Muslim faithful to continue promoting values that foster peaceful coexistence and national unity.

The governor further cautioned politicians and supporters against violence as political activities intensify ahead of the campaign season.

“Let me also use this opportunity to remind us that this is a campaign year and we must approach partisan politics with a godly spirit, detest violence, and have an open mind and campaign on topical issues rather than slandering others,” he said.

The Peter Obi Media Office, POMR, has claimed that certain politicians are intentionally spreading harmful lies suggesting that the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential hopeful is against people from the North.

POMR stated that some politicians have wrongly portrayed Obi’s time as governor of Anambra State, claiming that he “expelled” Northern traders and beggars back to their home regions.

Ibrahim Umar, the spokesperson for POMR, said that there was no “expulsion” or ethnic cleansing that took place while Obi was the governor of Anambra State.

In a signed statement, Umar said unlike the negative stories being spread by those trying to create conflict in politics, Obi’s administration built a very strong, friendly relationship with the Northern and Muslim communities in Anambra State.

The statement said: “Peter Obi’s media office has observed the ongoing, unfounded, and completely harmful accusations that are trying to distort Mr. Obi’s record in governance. Peter Obi, who used to be the Governor of Anambra State, had notable interactions with people from Northern Nigeria while he was in office.

“It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that political rivals who cannot face Mr. are resorting to this. Obi’s outstanding track record of being responsible, managing finances well, and promoting development has once more fallen victim to old and damaging methods of dividing people by their ethnicity and region.

“To make it clear for well-informed Nigerians, we want to strongly say: The repeated false idea that Mr.” The claim that Obi “brought back” Northerners or specifically focused on Northern traders and beggars during his time as governor is completely untrue.

“During Obi’s time as a leader, there was a caring social welfare program aimed at helping poor people and unaccompanied children from different states who were in great need in Awka and Onitsha.

“There was never any kind of ‘expulsion’ or ethnic cleansing; rather, there was a well-organized social rehabilitation program that helped people from all over the country.

“Documents from his eight years in office show that even when the country faced serious ethnic and religious conflicts, Mr. Obi acted as a guardian for the Northern community, especially in areas such as the Onitsha Hausa Quarter (Ama Awusa).

“He put in a lot of effort to stop any revenge attacks in Anambra area, which gained him a lot of respect from local leaders in the North.”

Former governorship aspirant, Hon. Chille Igbawua, has said that the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, made a mistake leaving the African Democratic Congress, ADC. 

He said the former Anambra State governor should have stayed in the ADC and learn some lessons even if he loses the primary election to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Igbawua, who is a member of the ADC Electoral Panel and Adviser to ADC National Chairman, David Mark, stated this when he appeared on Channels Television on Tuesday evening, insisting that there was a level playing ground for all the contestants in the APC primary.

He said in Benue, for instance, Atiku got 55,000 votes, Amaechi scored 30,000, and Hayatu-deen polled 22,000, to show that the playing field was level.
He said, “We started this process of the coalition, and I was there at the beginning, from where we adopted ADC as the political platform. 

“Hayatu-deen was part of it from the beginning, but abandoned it later, and then came back later. And some of the issues that we’re hearing is that most people didn’t even know he came back and was in the contest.

“But let me give you an example of Benue, for instance, Atiku polled 55,000 votes, Amaechi polled 30,000, Hayatu-deen polled 22,000.

“This shows that it was a level playing field for all. By the time all the results are out, we will be able to analyze it further.

“But as it stands now, I think that is one of the examples of the playing field being level, and the fact that each of them has won in some places also shows that if they had that reach, and I think you were correct when you said Atiku Abubakar over the years has built a very massive political machinery, it’s a fact.

“But when some people said they would not want to go into contest with Atiku, because he will always win. I said no, he has lost primaries before, so it’s not right to say he will always or maybe he has always won, he has lost it sometimes.

“So I thought it was only proper to stay back and try your luck and see if you didn’t win, you will learn lessons from the loss, and you will know where you went wrong. How better to go against him or some other persons in the future.”

Asked if he thinks Peter Obi is thanking his heavens right now for not staying back to contest against Atiku Abubakar in the ADC primary, he said, “I don’t think he can thank his heavens. 

“Where he has gone all the best to him. But I don’t think that he, to me, he has his opinion. I don’t think he made the right choice, as far as I’m concerned. 

“When this process started, it was all about saving Nigeria. It was not about personal ambition. Some of us have also sacrificed at our level. I have been involved in the National Assembly, I have been Chief Executive of the Public Complaints Commission of Nigeria, I have contested governorship. This time I said let me allow the field for others behind me to also try.

“So we are making sacrifices, and we thought honestly that if what we’re saying in the beginning that we are out for the interest of Nigerians and not our personal interest, I expected that we should, each of us, be able to make sacrifices at our various levels.

“So when somebody, because of losing out a personal ambition, you know, begins to abandon ship, that’s why I say I don’t think it’s the right decision.”