The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wants to delist the governorship candidate of the opposition party in Kogi State, Musa Wada and make governor Yahaya Bello a sole candidate in the November 16 governorship election.
This is just as the party also alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has listed 30 Kogi PDP leaders for arrest to put them out of circulation so that the ruling party would manipulate the governorship election.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said the party had gotten knowledge of the plot by the APC and INEC through available intelligence.
According Ologbondiyan, the measure that INEC intend to employ to remove the name of its governorship candidate was to tamper with the party’s submission of its candidate for November 16 governorship election.
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Consequently, the PDP has warned INEC to not attempt to execute the plot to make Yahaya Bello a sole candidate in the forthcoming governorship election.
“The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in the strongest terms, cautions the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to, in anyway, attempt to alter INEC’s Monitoring Report on our governorship primary in Kogi state or attempt to tamper with our record of submission of candidate for the November 16 governorship election.
“The PDP’s warning is predicated on intelligence available to the National Secretariat of our great party of plots by known INEC officers and certain APC leaders to alter INEC’s Monitoring Report and delist our candidate, all in their desperate, but sure to fail, bid to make Governor Yahaya Bello a sole candidate and deny the people of Kogi state their desire to vote in Engr. Musa Wada as their next governor.
“Of course, this plot is dead on arrival, as our candidate, Engr. Musa Wada, remains duly nominated through the statutory processes of our primary, which was well covered in the Monitoring Report released by INEC. The PDP cautions that any attempt to tamper with his candidature will trigger the wrath of the people,” Ologbondiyan stated.
Speaking further on the plan by the APC to arrest PDP leaders in Kogi, Ologbodiyan said the party would not tolerate any act of lawlessness from security agents and that it will the security operatives responsible should any harm befall any of its leaders.
“Intelligence available to the PDP indicates that over 30 Kogi leaders have been listed for arrest by the APC so as to put them out of circulation and pave way for manipulations against the people.
“Our party cautions the APC and their compromised security agents to steer clear of our leaders and members during this election. This is because any unwarranted attempt on their freedom and safety will be firmly resisted.
“Let it be known to the APC and security agencies that the people of Kogi, standing with the PDP are ready for this election and that harm to one is harm to all.
“The PDP therefore calls on Nigerians to hold the APC and Governor Bello responsible should any harm befall any of our leaders or should any one of them suddenly become a victim of an unexplained accident, accidental discharge or sudden disappearance.
Describing the plot by APC and INEC as grand conspiracy, the PDP insists that it is not shaken because it is fully backed by the generality of Kogi people to rescue the state from Bello’s misgovernance.
“The PDP is fully aware of the details of the meeting between the INEC officials and the APC stalwarts on Sunday, October 20 and Monday, October 21, 2019 at the INEC office in Lokoja, on how to alter INEC’s position in its earlier released Monitoring Report, which confirmed the validity and transparency of our governorship election primary.
“Our party has full details of how the APC leaders came to the meeting, which held at about 2 pm, in a black Toyota Prado SUV with covered plate number; how the INEC officials arrived 10 minutes later in a Kia SUV as well as the pecuniary transactions that followed.
“Information available to our party shows that an INEC P.R.O and a Legal official of the commission were also in the meeting where they plotted how to ensure the alteration of the INEC’s Monitoring Report on our Kogi primary before 1st November 2019.
“The PDP has been further made aware of how the conspirators have recruited 205 APC loyalists, who are being trained at Muslim Community School, Lokoja to impersonate NYSC members as Polling and Electoral Officers in designated areas to enable the APC and INEC manipulate the process in such areas.
“Now that these plots have been exposed and the conspirators already known by the people of Kogi State, the PDP cautions INEC to desist from any attempt to carry out APC’s nefarious bid.
However, Ologbodiyan assured the readiness of the party to monitor all electoral activities in all the polling units and all collation centres as well as to protect their votes up to the final declaration of results.
“Anybody that attempts to subvert their determination for a free, fair and credible process will only have himself to blame.
“The inevitable trajectory of change in this election as desired by the people of Kogi state, in their yearnings to end the suppressive, corrupt and anti-people government of Governor Yahaya Bello is abundantly clear and there is no way the people can allow anybody to undermine their determination for a new order,” Ologbondiyan insisted.
