Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma has described the killing of the late All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart AAhmed Gulak as a clear case of political assassination.
While he expressed shock over the killing of Gulak, Uzodinma said he is really saddened by the gruesome murder which underscores the ugly security situation in Imo State in recent times.
Addressing Imo people in a broadcast at the Government House in Owerri the Imo State capital, the governor said he could not go to church when he heard about Gulak’s assassination.
“Alhaji Ahmed Gulak was in Imo State for a national assignment. He came to Owerri with the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendment. Being a humble man, he chose to travel incognito according to his friend who was with him. Someone must have trailed him from the hotel to the airport. That is exactly why his gruesome murder appears to be a clear case of political assassination,” he said.
“The brutal and callous assassination of Alhaji Ahmed Gulak yesterday, Sunday, May 30th, 2021 on his way to the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport, is painful because he did not deserve to die that way.”
“The death of this compatriot is a personal loss to me because he was an invaluable friend and brother whose sense of justice, fairness and uprightness endeared him to me. I was shocked to my marrows when the sad news of his callous murder was broken to me.
“I was getting ready to go to church when the sad news came and I could not attend the service again. It was simply one of the most devastating news I have heard in my life and I am yet to recover from the shock. It remains a puzzle to me why anyone would want to murder him in this gruesome and vicious manner.”
Similarly, the Imo chapter of APC has described the murder of Mr Ahmed Gulak, a former presidential aide, as unconscionable and despicable.
This is contained in a statement on Monday in Owerri signed by the state APC chairman, Mr Marcillinus Nlemigbo.
Condemning the act, Nlemigbo said that the party received the news with deep sense of sorrow and grief, adding that the APC had lost a loyal stalwart.
He described Gulak as a great party leader adding that it was rather unfortunate that he was assassinated.
Nlemigbo condoled with the national leadership of the APC, the presidency and the people and government of Adamawa over his death.
“The unconscionable assassination of Ahmed Gulak, a party faithful is a provocative affront to the generality of Imo people who are not known to be this unmindful, callous, barbaric and heartless.
“His death, certainly, is a huge loss to APC as a party, his family, close friends, the good people of Adamawa and Nigeria as a country.
“Almost in a remarkable and apparent contradiction, as Imo State is not a hostile ground to visitors – we are receptive, loving, caring and accommodating,” he said.
Nlemigbo urged security agencies to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that all those involved in the “heinous and dastard act” were brought to book no matter how highly placed.
He, however, commended the efforts of the State Government towards containing security challenges bedevilling the state.
He called on residents of the state to join hands with the government towards restoring normalcy in the state.
Also, a former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD) described the death of Gulak as a sad and painful loss to the Nigerian nation.
This was contained in a release by the Media Office of the former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba (Engr.) Gbenga Daniel on Monday.
According to the former Governor, “Ahmed Gulak represents one of the best and finest intellectuals in Nigeria today, one of the few that we can find around the political circles.
“I worked very closely with him on various strategic political issues in the last 10 years and he can be described as one of the truly detribalized Nigerians.
“His death remains a mystery and a painful loss to the entire country, especially at a time that situation in Nigeria needs critical thinking and intellectual solutions to its myriads of social and economic problems.
“I personally mourn his passage and I pray for his sins to be forgiven, and for his soul to find eternal rest with his Maker; I pray for the family he left behind to have the strength and courage to bear his sad exit.”