The Department of State Security (DSS) on Wednesday grilled former Governor of Adamawa State, Jibrilla Bindow and five others over a controversial audiotape where some leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) were criticising President Muhammadu Buhari, with one of them even heard wishing that the President had died earlier of the dreaded COVID-19 or other illness.
Bindow was interrogated for hours alongside five others, namely Kabiru Mijinyawa, Abubakar Umar Sirimbai (former Commissioner), Yusha’u Adamu (former Speaker, Adamawa House of Assembly), Sulaiman Adamu (acting APC chairman, Yola South) and Mustapha Barkindo (former Adviser to Bindow).
Bindow’s Media Aide, Sadiq Abdullateef, who also confirmed the DSS invitation, disclosed on Wednesday that his Principal has since condemned the statements against the President.
The statement read in part: ”Former Adamawa State Governor, Senator Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow was invited to a party meeting because some members of the party were aggrieved about the just concluded primaries, which he attended as an elder of the party.
”It’s worthy of note that, there was no program in the said meeting, he went there and sat and listened to the aggrieved members’ complains, and there was an unwarranted outburst from some members which he cautioned, it’s sad that some people are using that outburst with a recording to malign the former Governor.
“The said recording was doctored and if you listened to it very well, there are some conversations that were skipped, Senator Bindow cautioned the members making those unwarranted utterances thrice in the meeting and even threatened to walk out.”
In the audio clip that surfaced, suspended caretaker chairman of APC in Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Sulaiman Adamu, said he wished the deadly Coronavirus had killed President Buhari.
Adamu, who made the spiteful remark during a meeting of some APC chieftains, said if he was asked to choose between Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, he would rather go for the latter.
The APC chieftains were heard making spiteful and denigrating remarks against Buhari without let or hindrance.
Excerpts of the conversation:
Anonymous: No one is recognising Sadu (Sa’ad Tahir) as a former Deputy Governor. You (Bindow) are the only person giving him the undeserved recognition.
Bindo: Yes, I know that. But let’s leave all that for now… (cuts in)
Anonymous: By the way; is he from Yola South? His polling unit is at Karewa in Yola North. Besides he’s not a grassroots man. He’s an Abuja based. You know that because he has never spent two weeks here.
Mijinyawa: We are the guys on ground. I don’t think we need to bother. Let them come to the arena, we’ll slug it out and everyone would know where their stand is.
Adamu: As for me, being a party administrator, even Buhari himself, what is his impact on the party? Of what value is he to us? How I wish he had contracted the deadly coronavirus so that Osinbajo would take over… (laughter).
Also lambasting the President, Abubakar Sirimbai, said, it is better for the “accursed president” to die so that Osinbajo could take over power.
“It is better for the accursed President to die so that his deputy can assume the reins of power. We sold our properties to help the President win the election. We bought underwear, braziers, and cosmetics which we used to give him a makeup. If I’m averse to Osinbajo becoming the President, may God not give me the privilege of living till evening.
“Buhari has achieved nothing in Adamawa in the last six years. APC in Adamawa thrives on the legacies of Bindow. We heard that Buhari used to be extremely happy whenever he learnt someone has gone bankrupt. We can’t be worshipping him like others,” Sirimbai was quoted as saying.
Also, the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mijinyawa in apparent approval of what others said, added that, “Osinbajo is our own.”