Shettima vows to sustain senatorial ambition amid motorcade attack

• Campaign council woos CSOs for credible elections
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has vowed to return to Gambaru Ngala despite last week’s attack on his convoy during a tour of the area to canvass support for his senatorial ambition.

Shettima, who is contesting in this weekend’s elections on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was heading for a rally when the incident happened on Maiduguri-Gamboru road.

The Islamic State (ISIS) later claimed responsibility for the Tuesday evening attack.

The terror group, in a statement, claimed that 42 people were killed in the encounter.

But the governor’s Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy, Malam Isa Gusau, who confirmed the development in a statement, said the casualty figure was three.

However, addressing State House Correspondents after a security briefing at the Presidential Villa yesterday, Shettima said the incident would not deter him from meeting with the people even if it means costing him his life.

He said: “Leadership requires courage. I will go back to Gamboru Ngala next week. I am ready to pay the supreme price if need be and I will not be going in a bullet-proof car.

“I will go in a normal car like any other members of my convoy and expose myself to all risks.

“But believe me, no matter how long the night is, darkness must give away to light. No matter how stormy the weather may be, it won’t rain forever. This madness will come to an end because it is a fight between light and darkness, it is a fight between cause and justice.”

Shettima was joined by the governors of Kaduna and Jigawa states, Nasir el-Rufai and Jibrilla Bindow during the closed-door meeting with the Ministers of Defence and Interior, Brig.-Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (rtd), Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Babagana Monguno (rtd), as well as the Director General of Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi and the service chiefs.

Also present at the parley were the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

Meanwhile, the APC Presidential Campaign Council has sought the backing of civil society organisations (CSOs) for free and fair polls this weekend.

Its Director of Contact and Mobilisation, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman, during a visit to the YIAGA election situation room in Abuja, said the goal was feasible provided the CSOs maintain the tempo by exposing any wrongdoings during the exercise.

She reiterated the party’s commitment to credible polls, adding that the campaign was ready notwithstanding the earlier setback posed by its postponement by the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).