The Igala Vanguard, a socio-cultural group has described the dangerous path All Progressive Congress’ ( APC ) House of Representatives candidate for Dekina/Bassa, Gowon Haruna Paul a.k.a IJN is threading all in the name of politics as a great disservice to the igala Nation.
The Vanguard in a statement by Engineer Lawrence Akpa says the inordinate ambition and short cut to political fame desiring of the APC House of Representatives candidate has descended so low with no value to himself and his extraction, it therefore declared him as Personae non grata to the race.
Akpa recalled with dismay series of activities by the APC candidate tailored towards the balkanisation, decapitation and dilapidation of the formidable igala political empire, through connivance with non- igala extraction to debase the political firmament of the race for mere parochial and personal interest, having achieved so much dubiously using the race in a negative and portraying in a bad light towards his overambitious gains.
He wondered for how long with the non decorum political underdog will continue to drag the race into the mud of politics for the mere fact that the igala society misplaced him as one of its patriotic representatives years back at the state level of lawmaking, only to turn to a conduit of siphoning the common wealth of the people and the entire state.
Engineer Lawrence Akpa added that many of his successful fraudulent activities and ritual disposition, that had detached him from his roots and placed his origin in discord and consistent denials in his ancestral homes.
He said, inspite of the misplaced stance of the igala Nation through his elective representation, his continuous anti Igala stance has become worrisome and unabated to the chagrin of the voting public from his area.
Akpa reminded the APC candidate that his overtures of shortchange against the igala Nation when he delved into the moribund and delisted microfinance business with a mini Bank targeted and defrauded the igala/Bassa people particularly the salaries of local government workers in the two local governments.
Part of his statement reads:
“Has he forgotten the month end scenario whenever salaries of Dekina / Bassa local government staffs are paid and under his arrangements stolen by armed robbers that denied the two local governments workers he now wants to represent at the green Chambers?
“We don’t want to go Into why and how the moribund microfinance Bank solely owned by him was delisted by CBN for an act unbecoming of mini money Banks and how through sharp practices he acquired the funds from two serving Ministers in the previous administrations masquerading as a Man of God.? ”
Lawrence advised the , NDIC , ICPC and EFCC among many anti graft agencies to carry out due diligence on the activities of the Board chairman and sole owner of a moribund micro finance Bank now an APC candidate in Kogi state, to represent Dekina / Bassa Federal Constituency.
” His untoward attitude towards public funds was the huge diversion of SDGs funds allocated to Kogi state in 2014 meant for social services and security of its citizens under the guise of mobilising funds and patronage to top party stalwart in Kogi state as at then.
“Over 500M SDGs counterpart funds deposited in the microfinance Bank owned by APC candidate was diverted to private pocket, denying people of immediate socioeconomic benefits, as government has to source for funds to mitigate the anomaly occasioned by his wrong patronage by the state government. ”
“It is also on record, according to Engineer Akpa how series of ritual killings across igala land were linked to APC candidate, particularly his records of strange deaths of the closest people to him and associates, and the speculations of ritual killings occasioned by his meddlesomeness in both spiritual and occultic activities which distanced many of his followers from him.”
“The deaths of many students of KSU and other institutions around igala land in his hotels were linked to ritual killings using swimming pool as a cover among many others, as well as the low patronage and subsequent abandonment of his hotels by both visitors and indigenes.
” Even though, it is a known fact that the two hotels built in Anyigba Kogi state and Lokoja the state capital was the proceeds of fraudulent sush funds from both former and serving public officers from Kogi and Nigeria at large.
Such a questionable and demeaning character should not be allowed to continue to preside on the public office or near public domain of Kogi and Nigeria at large., Akpa recalled.
“Infact, Gowon Haruna has desecrated Igala land and as such he should be rejected for any public position or even banished from the land”.
He urged the people of Dekina /Bassa to reject in its totality the quest for his representation at the National Assembly, stating that electing such a tainted character who never sees anything good in the igala race will amount to complete annihilation”.
