Youths attack lawmaker over failed promises

Umar Muhammed, Lafia

The member of the All Progressives Congress representing Awe-South state constituency at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Mr. Yahaya Rilwanu, has been attacked by some youths who alleged that he did not deliver the dividends of democracy to them.

The youths were said to be APC members from Ribi town.

It was gathered that a fight broke out between the supporters of the lawmaker and the angry youths who demanded the dividends of democracy from the lawmaker.

The crisis allegedly followed an altercation between one of the youths on the entourage of Rilwanu and one of the Ribi youths.

When our correspondent contacted him on the issue, Rilwanu, who confirmed the attack, however, said the youths were merely expressing their grievance.

He said, “What happened was not really an attack. It was one of my political rivals who want to contest in 2019 that went and induced some youths in the area to attack me.”

One of the youths on the entourage of the lawmaker sustained an injury on the head even as it took the intervention of some elders of Ribi to stop the fight from escalating.

The angry mob accused Rilwanu, who is popularly known as Equity, of not providing them with the dividends of democracy which he promised during his electioneering.

“No single borehole, school or any structure put in place by Rilwanu in any of the wards of his constituency. We regret voting him into office,” one of the youths lamented.

It was learnt that a similar attempt to attack him in Azara where he hails from was stalled by the intervention of some elders in the town.

A member of the APC from Azara, Mr. Adamu Abubakar, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, said that a meeting was held between some selected elders of the community and Rilwanu – with a view to making him live up to his electoral promises.

Rilwanu said it was a former Director of Personnel Management, Azara Development Area, Mr. Wkasha Ribi, that instigated the youths against him over an allegation that he (Rilwanu) was behind his (Ribi’s) removal as DPM.

Reacting to the allegation by Rilwanu, Ribi, who spoke in a telephone interview, dismissed the allegation.