PDP accuses INEC of hiring APC members as Electoral Officers

chika ebuzor

February 20, 2019 7:05 PM

The allegations were made by the spokesman of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan during a press conference on Wednesday.

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, with the PDP's national chairman, Uche Secondus

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of hiring members of the ruling party as Electoral Officers.

The PDP said INEC’s boss, Mahmood Yakubu agreed to do the bidding of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after he was threatened.

According to Daily Post, the PDP also alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) has taken control of some departments in INEC.

The allegations were made by the spokesman of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan during a press conference on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 in Abuja.

He said “At the meeting, Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, the Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mustapha Boss, among others, were in attendance, Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) were directed to issue out result sheets to APC agents to falsify and declare results in favour of the APC.

“Intelligence at our disposal reveals that the INEC Chairman has succumbed to back channel bullying by the Buhari Presidency and APC to accede to their demand to replace Electoral Officers (EOs) in various critical states with APC agents who will vehemently execute President Buhari’s rigging plans in the February 23, Presidential election.

“Also our party has full details of how the Department of State Services (DSS) has been interfering with operations of critical departments of INEC, including the ICT department, to do APC bidding.

“The PDP also has details of the meeting last night by President Buhari, some APC northern governor and Service Chiefs last night, whereupon pressure was mounted on the Service Chiefs in connection with the APC rigging plans.

undefined AFP

“We alert Nigerians that the INEC Chairman has been intimidated with threat of ‘Onnoghen’s treatment’ to accept a list of APC members and agents and post them to serve as EOs in various states including Kano, Kaduna, Rivers, Bauchi, Akwa-Ibom, Zamfara, Benue, Sokoto, Lagos, Plateau, Taraba, Borno, Adamawa, Kogi, Delta, Ebonyi among others.

“The PDP stands with Nigerians in directly rejecting this latest arm-twisting of security agencies as well as the nefarious plots to use APC members as INEC Election Officers.

“It is now clearer that the election day killing order issued by President Buhari is designed to clamp-down and even kill patriotic Nigerians who will want to confront and stop the APC from executing their rigging plots on the day of election.

“However, the PDP, in clear terms, assures INEC, compromised security agents and President Buhari that their evil plans will definitely come to naught.

undefined AFP

ALSO READ: PDP condemns Buhari's threat to ballot box snatchers

“Nigerians are now, more than ever before, determined in rallying with our party, to confront, resist and stop President Buhari and the APC on their trail to rig the February 23 election.

“Nigerians in their millions, across the 176,000 polling units and voting points, have been placed on readiness for this election and nobody can rig them out”.

Meanwhile, Senator Dino Melaye has revealed that the PDP has taken deliberate steps to foil any attempts to rig the 2019 general elections.

Melaye said the PDP has bought secret cameras to record any attempts by the ruling party to rig the elections.