Governorship debate ends abruptly as APC, PDP supporters clash in Sokoto

A debate organised for governorship candidates in Sokoto was reportedly cut short after a clash involving the supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The debate was said to have been organised by the Voice of America (VOA) Hausa service in partnership with Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

Confirming the incident to TheCable on Wednesday, Kabir Bello, a resident of the state said supporters of both parties clashed when they were given the chance to question the candidates.

“The debate started peacefully without any problem. It was after about an hour into the debate when the party’s governorship candidates presented their manifesto that the conflict started,” Bello said.

“The moderator of the debate gave the audience the chance to ask the gubernatorial candidates questions and after one or two questions were asked, some APC supporters started shouting and complaining that only PDP supporters were being given the chance to ask questions.

“The organisers of the debate could not tell who in the audience was a supporter of which party. They were just giving the microphone to the members of the audience randomly.

“That was how they started attacking and fighting each other, saying the moderators were favouring the PDP. But nobody was injured or killed during the clash.

“I was there in the hall; I witnessed everything.”

The debate was attended by candidates of APC, PDP, Labour Party (LP), New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), and Action Democratic Party (ADP).

Efforts to reach Sanusi Abubakar, police spokesperson in the state, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls or messages.