2019: There’s plot to ‘knockout’ Buhari - Senator Marafa

- Senator Kabir Marafa has alleged that there are plans to technically 'knock out' President Buhari ahead of 2019 general elections

- President had on Monday, April 9, declared intention to seek re-election in 2019

- Marafa also noted that there are some people within the party's NWC who wanted to scuttle the recently conducted congress in Zamfara state

Senator Kabiru Marafa representing Zamfara central senatorial district at the upper legislative chamber raised the alarm that plots are on to technically knockout President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 election.

Daily Trust reports that Marafa who is the chairman of the Senate committee on petroleum said in an interview that he was tear-gassed during a parallel congress conducted by his camp in Zamfara on Saturday, May 12.

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Legit.ng gathered that the senator said that the state government mobilised heavily to prevent an innocent citizen from carrying out his civic responsibility

He said: "There was an incident in my local government. The police I believe under the instruction of the state government mobilised heavily to prevent an innocent citizen from carrying out his civic responsibility, and that was me.

"Saturday, 12th of May was the date fixed by the APC for local government congresses, and as a party man and a politician, I drove to my local government headquarters where the event was supposed to take place.

"On reaching there, I met massive security buildup comprising mobile policemen and officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

"I was informed that the area commander was there, so I tried to see him but I couldn't. There was an APC vehicle stationed there, this time not APC political party but Armored Personnel Carrier. Before I knew it, one of my mobile policemen was manhandled. So I moved forward to ask what the problem was and they threw teargas right in front of me.

"In a nutshell, the mobile policeman was manhandled, harassed and disarmed. My orderly was equally disarmed. So I tried to ask what was the problem, they were just busy throwing tear gas. But I thank God that they did not deter me.

"The whole thing was just to stop me from organising or conducting my own local government congress. But the beauty of it is that the world has seen that the state government lacks confidence of the people that is why there was that massive police or security buildup. If you are popular in politics, you don’t need any security agent to help you organize your own affair.

He added that: "The state government has lost popularity and touch with the people so it is afraid of elections. What I simply asked was that let these congresses be conducted following our guidelines. That is what I asked for. What do the guidelines say?

"They show how the ward congresses should hold; how the local government should go, and this is how that of the state should go. So why the massive buildup of security? If you had done the right thing, people will see it, people will be the judges too. I think the whole essence was aimed at either embarrassing me or intimidating me, but that is not possible because they cannot stop me from defending my right.

"Like in Zamfara now, we had parallel congresses - we now have two sets of executives, one by the state government and another by me. I have followed due process from beginning up till where we are now. But the state government didn’t because they have security apparatus at their disposal.

"As far as I am concerned, there are some people within the NWC that are desirous of scuttling the processes thereby endangering the electoral success of the APC. They may rule against me on the case I made to the appeal committee for instance, but one thing I'm sure of is that the court will rule in my favour.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that following the killings of Innocent citizens in Zamfara state, a chieftain of the APC, Comrade Timi Frank, on Wednesday, February 14, urged that such an issue should not be swept under the carpet.

APC official tells why his party could be voted out in 2019 - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng