The Peoples Democratic Party National Campaign Council (PDP-NCC) for the September 19 governorship election in Edo State has claimed it uncovered plots by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its sacked national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to procure extra result sheets to rig the poll.
The Secretary, Publicity Sub-Committee of the PDP campaign, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegation at a press conference on Friday, in Abuja.
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But the APC 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.
The PDP alleged that Oshiomhole and other APC leaders had been mounting pressure on 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.
“Already, a base has been established in a neighboring town of Kogi State which will be used to serve for operations in their callous 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.
“The PDP campaign has information of how two APC governors from the South East and North Central respectively, are spearheading the plan and have also agreed to fund it.
“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,” the PDP said.
Reacting, the APC in a statement Friday night by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, said; “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.
“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,” the APC added.
