Opposition kicks as Zamfara gov’t bans political gatherings

Zamfara state government has banned all political gatherings, including rallies, in the state.

According to the government, the ban, which affects all political parties and takes immediate effect, was to ensure peace and stability in the state.

Zamfara, a northwestern state in Nigeria, has been plagued by insecurity for years, resulting in deaths and displacement of hundreds of people.

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Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa service, the Senior Special Assistant to Zamfara State Governor on Broadcast, Media and Public Affairs, Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, said the decision followed a political conflict that ensued in Maru local government area of the state.

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He said, “Thenceforth, all political gatherings and rallies capable of causing unrest have been banned. The government is mourning an incident in Maru local government which claimed lives and led to the burning of some fortune.”

He added that the ban was, however, not indefinite but temporary, aimed at preventing further tension.

He stressed that the action was not to suppress or humiliate anyone but to address the concerns of the people.

“The ban is with immediate effect. Security agencies in the State have been directed to crackdown on any politician or group of politicians that fails to comply with these directives”, he added.

But a leading opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has faulted the development, insisting that their members were law-abiding and would therefore go about their party gatherings since they were not holding any campaign rallies.

The spokesperson of the APC in the state, Malam Yusuf Idris Gusau, claimed there was no any law that permits the prohibition of political gatherings, describing the state government’s decision as laughable.

“There is no law that permits banning of political gatherings. And he didn’t ban political gatherings. It is the APC function held on Saturday in Zamfara that frightened the government, and that’s what prompted them to issue this directive.

“The government can’t stop us from holding political gatherings because our party is a registered national party.

“Our members are law-abiding citizens who will not do anything that will cause tension in the state.” Gusau added.