HURIWA's national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, made this appeal while addressing reporters in Owerri in response to the recent verdict of the Nasarawa governorship election petition tribunal.
HURIWA alleged that the ICPC should scrutinize the utilization of state funds in the legal battle concerning the tribunal case.
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, presided over by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, found that Ombugadu had presented evidence indicating that the election results were manipulated in favor of the APC, and he secured the majority of valid votes.
While acknowledging the governor's right to appeal the decision, HURIWA cautioned against the potential misuse of state funds to finance the appeal. The organization urged Governor Sule not to further deplete the state's finances by supporting a potentially fruitless appeal and instead, to respect the tribunal's verdict and uphold democratic principles.
HURIWA stressed that the misappropriation of public funds for personal political battles constitutes a form of corruption that undermines good governance and transparency. Such actions, it contended, violate the foundations of democratic governance and ethical conduct, posing a direct threat to Nigeria's democracy and its fundamental principles of integrity and accountability.
Therefore, HURIWA called on the ICPC to initiate an immediate and comprehensive investigation into Governor Sule's financial transactions and the utilization of public resources by his administration to ascertain whether state funds have been diverted to finance the governor's legal campaign and to take appropriate action if any wrongdoing is discovered.
