The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for Edo Governorship Election says it is aware of plots by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its sacked national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to procure extra result sheets with which they intend to rig the September 19 Edo governorship election.
PDP also said the campaign council has also been made aware of how Oshiomhole and certain corrupt APC leaders have been threatening and mounting pressure on the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yakubu Mahmood, and other officials of the Commission to secretly provide them with ballot papers and form EC8 election results sheet to facilitate their plans for ballot stuffing and writing of election results.
Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary and Secretary, Publicity Sub-Committee of the National Campaign Council for Edo Governorship Election, made these allegations at a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
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Ologbondiyan said the Council has further information that the APC and its candidate have marked Edo North Senatorial District as where the extra ballot papers and result sheets would be pushed to APC thugs, including those to be brought in from neighbouring Kogi State, to doctor election results for Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the APC candidate.
According to him, a base has already
been established in a neighbouring town of Kogi State which will be used to serve operations in the plots.”Edo North has a borderline with Kogi, a state where unimaginable electoral violence, including burning a woman alive, was perpetrated by the APC in their desperation for electoral manipulation,” Ologbondiyan said.”The APC plot for the Edo election is reminiscent of last year’s governorship election in Kogi State where different election results sheets found their way to INEC collation centre where they were admitted and declared.”The PDP campaign has information on how two APC governors from the South East and North Central respectively, are spearheading the plan and have also agreed to fund it.
“Our campaign invites Nigerians to note that this is the reason the APC candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, is not campaigning but rather mobilizing his group of thugs, cultists, and hoodlums, (lions and tigers) as seen in the viral video, to storm polling units to unleash violence on voters, knowing that there is no way he can win in the election.
“The PDP campaign is already aware of the plots to use the cultists and thugs (lions and tigers) to convey the illegal ballot papers, result sheets as well as dangerous weapons and charms to various polling units to as well as provide illegal cover for APC agents to doctor results.
“Nigerians can now see why Oshiomhole described Ize-Iyamu as a fake pastor. Of course, as the saying goes, show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.
“We believe INEC and security forces have taken note of the direct criminal affront of the law by Ize-Iyamu, in openly directing his cultists and thugs to barefacedly flout election movement restriction order, and move from one polling unit to the other to execute their devilish plots.
“Nigerians should also take note of this reckless plot for chaos on election day by Ize-Iyamu, who is plotting to import violence, unleash bloodletting and derail the state because he has been rejected by the people.
“We do not want to believe that our security agencies, who are paid to protect lives and property and to ensure credible and peaceful processes on election day have abandoned such onerous responsibility to political vagabonds in the APC to reenact such irresponsible acts as had taken place in the Kano, Osun, Kogi, and Imo elections.
“Consequently, the PDP national campaign calls on the Inspector General of Police to stand up to the expectation of Nigerians by immediately inviting Ize-Iyamu to explain his directive to the cultists as well as arrest all the hoodlums shown in the video to forestall their plot of unleashing terror on the people of Edo state.
“Moreover, intelligence is filtering regarding alleged plots by certain agents of the APC to cover the tracks, by using certain means to silence some of the thugs after using them.
“In any case, our national campaign wants the APC, INEC, Ize-Iyamu and Adams Oshiomhole to note that we are not resting on our oars. Our campaign will lead the people of Edo state to resist this murderous band of electoral manipulators and use every means within the ambit of the law to stop them from their evil trails.
“Our campaign cautions the APC, Oshiomohle and INEC officers they are speaking to, to retrace their steps as the wrath of people of Edo state awaits any person or group that attempts to rig the election.
“The stiff resistance by the Edo people against attempts by Oshiomhole and Ize-Iyamu to forcefully take over the state legislature is a loud message to the APC and their agents.
“The Edo people have fully mobilised themselves and cannot be cowed by manipulators who want to use cultists, thugs, and compromised INEC officers to truncate their wishes and aspiration at the election.
“It is the people that will choose who will govern them. Nigerians already know that the people of Edo State are behind Governor Godwin Obaseki and will never, by any stroke of imagination, accept any perpetration of illegality, foul play, or even the use of federal apparatus or cultists to attempt to upturn their will in this election.
“Let it be known to all that only free and fair election can guarantee peace in Edo State. Enough is Enough!” the PDP spokesman said.
Responding to these allegations, APC said sensing the widespread acceptance and support the good people of Edo State have given to its candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, in the lead-up to the forthcoming governorship election, PDP is clearly panicked and has resorted to childish and comical conspiracies.
APC, in a statement by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, said the procurement of result sheets, cloning of PVCs, stealing card readers, vote-buying, voter intimidation, and other election fraud is the PDP’s stock-in-trade.
“For us in the APC, it is one person, one vote. Our people-focused development records are visible to all and the good people of Edo state are poised to make the right and progressive choice, come September 19.
“We reiterate that our security services must do everything to stop the PDP’s plan to unleash violence, intimidate voters and buy votes during the election,” he said.
