By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
A former Minister of Information, Labara Maku, has said that the frequent attacks and displacement of citizens in Nasarawa state could be attributed to politics and the lack of political will to solve the problem.
Maku urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take a special interest in the ongoing violence and displacement of people, as he (President) visited the state.
Addressing a news conference yesterday in Abuja, Maku, a chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said the only gift President Buhari could give in his visit “is to ensure there is peace in the state.”
He said: “Today, I believe that all of Nasarawa state ought to be celebrating the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari, but, unfortunately, as the president visit my state today several communities will not be part of the visit, several communities have been sacked from their habitations, they will not be in Lafia today (Tuesday) to celebrate the coming of the president because their no longer in their communities.
“In Nasarawa state, we have stayed in peace for century. The current development is highly unusual, is highly artificial. As one of the leaders from that state, there is a lot of politics connected. People discuss it openly, why do we have these disruptions and attacks every time close to elections?”
Maku noted that the ongoing attacks in Nasarawa was about politics of 2019, saying the “current developments require urgent attention because all what the people of Nasarawa are asking for is peace.”
“What I am saying today is what Governor Al-Makura won’t tell him (President) as he visit the state.
“Nasawara state is made up of peace loving communities, but everyday now communities are burying people under Governor Al-Makura’s administration. There is nothing the President will give us today that is greater than peace.”
