Nigeria’s north hits activist Sowore, for maligning a Governor

Nigeria

Northern Nigeria stakeholders, under the Labour Party, has cautioned the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, to limit his uncomplimentary remarks to people of his status and age and not drag an elder statesman of high repute like the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, into his rascality.

The Chairman of the Party in north central Plateau State, Comrade Solomon Ndam, who spoke on behalf of the Northern Stakeholders, said Sowore has crossed the line by equating the Governor with a character associated with dubious behaviour which can be sued for defamation.

“This is baseless criticism and accusations”, Ndam said on Tuesday, during a press briefing organised to call Sowore to order.

Recall that Sowore has accused the Governor of illegal land acquisition and money laundering among other alleged accusations.

Responding, Ndam added that the action of Sahara publisher against the Governor is a  campaign of calumny warning that the north will not allow the falsehood to be swept under the carpet.

He said the accuser does not live in Bauchi and probably would have relied on the Governor’s political enemies to feed him with distorted information.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the ongoing malicious, unfounded, and disgraceful attacks being perpetuated by Sowore against Senator Bala Mohammed.

“Sowore, notorious for his habitual disrespect of elders and leaders of great national repute, has once again taken to his usual antics of defamation, character assassination, and social media propaganda”, he said.

According to him: “All the facts advanced in Sowore’s write ups against the Governor and his family are false and fiction of his own imaginations including those he hired in Bauchi to give him wrong information on the activities of the Governor’s family.

“We find this behaviour not only reckless but also dangerous and intolerable.

“Governor Bala Mohammed is a man of proven integrity, a builder of people and institutions, a statesman who has earned his place in Nigerian politics through dedication, excellence, and results. 

“His achievements in Bauchi State, ranging from infrastructural transformation to health, education, security, youth empowerment, are widely recognised and applauded both locally and internationally.

“Therefore, to see someone like Sowore, who has not built anything meaningful for society to  shamelessly attack such a distinguished leader is both unacceptable and deeply provocative”, he said.

Ndam dared Sowore to come down to Bauchi and make his physical verification and assessment regarding the lies he has been telling Nigerians concerning the family of the Governor, who is said to be considered a Messiah in Bauchi state considering his many developmental strides.

“Sowore, are you from Bauchi state or have you been to Bauchi state even for once?” he asked rhetorically, adding that journalism is anchored on the principle of rule of law, transparency, truth to the nation and the people but wondered why a prominent journalist and activist of this nature can rely on hearsay primarily to paint the working Governor black”.

Ndam further said someone who hasn’t visited Bauchi in the last ten years before Governor Mohammed assumed office in 2019 may hardly recognize the capital city and all the twenty local government areas because of the many developmental projects of the Governor in road infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, youth and women empowerment among others.

“We call on all peace-loving Nigerians, particularly our comrades in the Labour Party across the federation, to rise and speak against the abuse of free speech”, he said.