Nigeria’s ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), has dismissed the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of uncovering a plot to rig the September 19 Edo State governorship election as evidence that the opposition party is panicking ahead of the election.
The PDP, in an earlier statement on Friday, said the APC and its former national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, were seeking to obtain extra INEC result sheets to rig the election.
“Our campaign has also been made aware of how Adams 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.
“We have 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 neighboring Kogi state, to doctor election results for Ize-Iyamu,” the PDP had alleged.
But in a swift reaction, APC’s spokesperson, Yekini Nabena, said the allegation was triggered by growing acceptance of APC’s governorship candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, by the Edo electorate.
Describing the allegation as “childish and comical conspiracies,” Mr Nabena said election irregularities are the PDP’s techniques of winning elections in its 16 years of political dominance in Nigeria.
“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 is visible to all and the good people of Edo state are poised to make the right and progressive choice, come September 19.
“Come September 19, votes will count and the will of the Edo electorate will prevail,” he said as he called on the country’s security operatives to “stop the PDP’s plan to unleash violence, intimidate voters and buy votes during the election.”