Trouble was averted in Kuje Area Council, Abuja, on Saturday when members of two rival political parties nearly engaged in a free-for-all over a campaign billboard, ahead of the forthcoming council elections in the area, NAN reports.
It took the intervention of a team of policemen from Kuje station to settle the fracas between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and those of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, trouble started over an attempt to remove the campaign billboard with the image of Mr Shabab Tete, the council chairman who is seeking re-election on the platform of the PDP.
The billboard was mounted in front of the Council Secretariat.
Speaking on the clash, Kuje PDP Youth Leader, Adamu Dogo, told NAN that the billboard was mounted by some PDP supporters who later decamped to APGA.
Dogo said the fight started when the decamped members attempted to replace the board with the image of Haruna Yerima, the APGA candidate, in the forthcoming election.
Dogo told NAN that APGA supporters had no right to change the image on the board.
“The billboard was mounted by PDP and the APGA people have no right to remove the image of our candidate, and put their own.
“Even if the decamped supporters of PDP were among those that mounted the billboard, the finance came from the ruling party, PDP.
“They should wait till after March 19 after the people have decided who they want as Kuje Chairman,’’ he said.
However, the APGA youth leader, Bala Yusuf, objected to Dogo’s argument, saying that the contentious billboard was an individual project that was not financed by the PDP.
“The owner of the billboard want to use his property and the PDP people are saying no; this billboard was mounted by an individual and not by PDP.
“We will take the matter to court because this is pure intimidation by the PDP,” he said.
He further claimed that the owner of the billboard had receipt to it.