…Defies Rally Ban
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the Senate on Tuesday cried out, urging Nigerians to hold the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo and his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, responsible if she and her supporters are attacked.
The Senator raised the alarm in a post via her official Facebook.
She said, “My dear people of Kogi Central, I look forward to our peaceful Sallah celebrations today.
“However, should we be met with or infiltrated by violence, Nigerians should hold Gov Òdodo, Yahaya Bello & SP Godswill Akpabio wholly responsible.”
She raised the alarm just a few hours after she vowed in a statement to go ahead with her scheduled visit to her constituency for the Eid-el-Fìtr break and the rally planned for her homecoming.
The senator also urged her supporters to disregard speculations making the round that she has cancelled her scheduled visit.
While stating that she has a statutory function in her capacity as the lawmaker representing her constituents, the embattled senator encouraged her supporters to troop out en masse to celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr with her.
The Kogi State Government on Monday banned rallies and public gatherings in the state citing ‘security reports’.
The government also stopped fishing and other activities. The government said the reason is that they recently resulted in the loss of two lives in Kasemiya, Katubo and Umozu Ette, all in Kogi Local Government Area in Kogi West.
The Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo said the move was to prevent any form of security breach that might destabilise the state.
Similarly, the Kogi Police Command warned Akpoti-Uduagan to cancel her planned Sallah rally.
Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Miller Dantawaye stated that the planned gathering goes against the state government’s recent ban on political gatherings, which was announced on Monday.
Meanwhile, videos of the purported rally for the homecoming of the senator have started making the rounds on social media.
As of the time of filing this story, one of the Kogi senators named, Bashir Haroon, shared a live feed showing hundreds of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s supporters, comprising mainly women singing and drumming in anticipation of her return.(With Agency Additional Report)
