APC, FG planning to rig rerun election, PDP alleges

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has alleged that the Federal Government and the All Progressives Congress, APC, are planning to use soldiers to rig the rerun governorship elections slated for March 23 in six states by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Acoording to the opposition party, it is convinced about this because of what it experienced during the rerun of the governorship election in Osun State, where it alleged that security men barred journalists, observers and voters who wanted to vote for the PDP from gaining access to polling units.

The PDP equally accused INEC of working together with the ruling party to deny it victory in states where it claimed the voters trooped out in large numbers to vote for its candidates.

INEC had after Saturday’s governorship election across the country, declared the contest inclusive in Kano, Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau, Benue and Sokoto States.

However, the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, called on Nigerians and the international community to pay attention to what he described as the “antics of the APC and INEC to deny Nigerians the opportunity to freely elect their leaders.”

According to him, it was strange that the Nigeria Army allowed itself to be used by politicians who, he claimed, were out to dent the image of the security agencies.

He said: “Nigerians will recall what happened during the rerun of the Osun State governorship election where masked security men from the Department of State Services and policemen took over the polling units and centres.

“Nigerians saw the evil that happened there as the security men barred supporters of the PDP from gaining access to the polling centres. However, both Nigerians and the international community saw how security agents served as aides to members of the APC as they walked freely to the polling centres.

“That is what they are now planning to do on March 23. Some governors of the APC met with President Muhammadu Buhari this week. We know the issues discussed at the secret meeting.

“This was why none of those at the meeting was ready to brief journalists afterwards. They are planning to harrass voters, using the military, especially the army and the DSS, in the affected polling units and thereby take the states by force.

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“We will not allow this to happen. We will not surrender the mandates that were freely given to us by Nigerians to the enemies of democracy in the country.

“INEC, the APC and the Federal Government knew that we won in almost all the six states, but because it would be glaring that we were robbed of victory, they are now calling for rerun elections.”

Secondus also lamented that it was sad that members of the ruling party were not thinking of the economic and social implications of not allowing free and fair elections in the country.

“Actions of the government and even the damage the military has done to the image of this country in the last few days will take years to rebuild. It is a colossal loss to the nation,” he added.

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