Tribunal: HURIWA Urges ICPC to Investigate Nasarawa Gov, Sule

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, on Thursday, urge the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission, ICPC, to carry out an investigation on Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.

The national coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, made this call while discussing the most recent ruling of the Nassarawa governorship election petition tribunal with news reporters in Owerri.

He claimed that the ICPC ought to investigate the usage of state funds in the tribunal case’s legal dispute.

According to HURIWA, “This verdict decisively recognized the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), David Ombugadu, as the rightful winner of the highly contentious March 18 governorship election in Nasarawa State”. The tribunal, led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, found that Ombugadu had provided evidence that the election results were manipulated in favor of the APC and had the majority of valid votes

“While HURIWA acknowledges the governor’s right to appeal the decision, it issued a warning against the potential misuse of state funds to finance the appeal and urged Governor Sule not to further deplete the state’s finances by funding a potentially fruitless appeal. Instead, the organization called on him to respect the tribunal’s verdict and uphold the principles of democracy.”

He alleged that; “The misuse of public funds for personal political battles is a form of corruption that undermines the principles of good governance and transparency. Such actions represent a serious violation of the foundations of democratic governance and ethical conduct, posing a direct threat to Nigeria’s democracy and its essential principles of integrity and accountability.

“Therefore, HURIWA called on the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to initiate an immediate and comprehensive investigation into Governor Sule’s financial transactions and the utilization of public resources by his administration, stressing that the objective of the investigation is to determine whether state funds have been diverted to finance the governor’s legal campaign and take appropriate action if any wrongdoing is found.”