- Parties Finger, Accuse INEC…
- APC: PDP Working With INEC To Accredit Fake Voters, Buy Votes
- PDP: INEC, APC Attempting To Change Names Of Polling Officers
The fiery exchange between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) took a new dimension on Thursday as the two parties made a flurry of allegations bordering on alleged attempts to compromise the September 19 Edo gubernatorial election, dragging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into the entire schemings and accusations.
The APC in Edo State alleged that the PDP is trying to undermine the electoral process by flooding the state with fake voters and cloned Permanent Voters Card.
APC also alleged that the PDP is planning to buy PVCs with huge sums of money ahead of the next week’s Saturday poll.
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In a statement on Thursday, the Chairman of the Edo state APC Media Campaign Council, Mr John Mayaki claimed that the PDP is working with some compromised staff of INEC to accredit fake voters who are set to storm polling units with fake PVCs on election day.
“They will work with some compromised staff of the commission (INEC) to give them fake accreditation – please let all relevant bodies and security agencies take note of this. We must all work together to checkmate this plan in order to avoid smooth rigging.
“We also have reports from people within Edo that they have tried to mobilise to furnish their sinister desires. They are already asking for people’s account details promising to credit them money two days to the elections. They will train you, pay you and make you vote for them.”
The PDP has dismissed the APC’s claims, describing them as baseless allegations.
Reacting to the allegations, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Chris Nehikhare said, “APC has turned into a one fake news per day party. This allegation is baseless. APC is obviously exploring this option since we burst their Hope Uzodinma template. They are flying a kite and we will be vigilant to make sure their fake voters are not allowed into voting centres as they are the ones they want to use to cause trouble at the polling units.
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“Their plans will fail. They cannot subvert the will of Edo people,” PDP scribe added.
Nehikhare further alleged that APC was planning to use cloned PVCs to compromise the election in its favour.
Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, has alleged that an unnamed national commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is planning to change the names of adhoc staff already recruited by the commission to perfect the alleged plot on APC’s directive.
Ologbondiyan who spoke with newsmen, Thursday, urged the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu to address the allegations so as to bolster people’s confidence in the sanctity of the election.
He said: “We have information and we want INEC to speak out on the allegation that one of its national commissioners (names withheld), is being used to manipulate Supervisory Polling Officers, SPOs and local government Polling Officers in respect of the election of September 19 and we are challenging Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to speak out on this matter.
“We also have information that INEC working in cohort with the APC and their candidate, is going to allow for the use of cloned PVCs on the day of the election.
“We have all these allegations and we want to assure the people of Edo State that the PDP is following up and seeking strategies to neutralise all these game plans.”
However, the back-and-forth continues as the Director General of the APC Campaign Council, Dr. Cecil Esekhaigbe, on Thursday accussed Governor Obaseki of planning to import voters into Edo from Abuja.
“Under the guise of assisting intending voters with transportation, the governor has released the sum of N250m to the Edo Liaison Office, Abuja to induce voters living in Abuja and also buy the PVCs of those who will not be able to attend at N200,000 per PVC.
“In executing this ploy, the Abuja Liaison office has sent out notices to platforms of Edo Indigenes in Abuja, inviting them to come with their PVCs to the office from Friday 4th September to Friday 11th September 2020,” Esekhaigbe claimed.
