APC raises alarm over PDP's alleged plans to rig

In a statement signed by the party's Acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, on Wednesday, August 15, 2018, the party urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to take note of the opposition party's recent statement where it accused the APC of rigging elections.

In the statement, the PDP vowed to henceforth "contend with APC, head to head, means to means, scheme to scheme, shenanigan for shenanigan, in all ramifications and magnitude, to discomfit them in all coming elections in the country."

The PDP further called on all its presidential aspirants state governors, officials at state and zonal chapters, national and state assembly members and all other elected leaders at all levels to move all their political machinery into Osun State to provide all necessary support for the election.

In its Wednesday statement, the APC expressed shock at the PDP's 'worrisome' statement which the party said indicates the opposition party's rigging plans.

The APC urged INEC to commence an urgent probe into the activities of the PDP which it also accused of cloning permanent voter's cards (PVC) for use in the Osun election.

The statement read, "The People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday vowed to deploy all 'means, schemes, shenanigans in all ramification and magnitude' to rig all coming election, starting from the Osun State Governorship election. The party also 'directed all its presidential aspirants to move all their political machinery into Osun state within this period'.

"When the All Progressives Congress (APC) learnt of the shocking disclosures, we initially doubted its veracity and dismissed it as one of the fake news in circulation, until further checks backed by media reports confirmed the statement was indeed issued by the PDP National Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan.

"The PDP's statement on Tuesday is particularly worrisome because it coincided with the situation field report we received of the PDP cloning Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) for use in the Osun governorship election.

"The PDP's now public rigging plans is a red flag that require urgent probe by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and relevant security agencies. We also call on well-meaning Nigerians and civil society organisations to speak out and resist the PDP's retrogressive plan which threatens our democracy."

Rigging is a thing of the past, APC tells PDP

The APC also told the PDP that Nigeria's democracy has matured past the point where crude election rigging methods can be allowed to truncate it.

The party expressed confidence that the people of Osun State will resist anybody's attempt to subvert the will of the people.

The party said, "Perhaps the PDP needs to be reminded that our democracy is maturing and its crude election rigging methods such as ballot box snatching (recently displayed during last weekend by-election in Kogi state), announcement of concocted election results and other anomalies are no longer acceptable in our elections.

"We are confident that the good people of Osun will resist the PDP's deployment to takeover Osun State by force. The people's will; the people's vote is supreme. It must be respected and defended. That is democratic, progressive and the right thing.

"We conclude by reminding the PDP of new realities as succinctly captured by President Muhammadu Buhari, '...the old Nigeria is slowly but surely disappearing and a new era is rising...'. Unlike undemocratic practices under past administrations, elections under the APC administration are increasingly freer and fairer -- a very significant feat in our march for lasting and representative democracy."

The Osun State gubernatorial election will take place on September 22.