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Kogi poll: PDP being mischievous, Buhari says

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In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews . . .
The Presidency has reacted to the statement credited to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that the Presidency and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were colluding to rig Saturday’s Kogi governorship election, describing the allegation as mischievous.
A statement issued by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said it’s mischievous for PDP to read meanings to the well intended meeting the President had with INEC.
President Buhari had met with INEC officers where he, according to the statement, impressed them, the police and other security agencies to ensure a free, fair and credible governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Shehu said in the statement: “The President called the meeting cited by the PDP to warn, in particular, the INEC and the police to do prepare and give the nation a credible election. He said he expected nothing short of a free, fair and credible election.
“He said he had suffered election manipulation in 2003, 2007 and 2011 and would not like to have any Nigerian to go through that again.

Read also: APC building on our foundation –PDP

“He warned against the intimidation of voters in any way and vowed that he was prepared to move with all the forces available to him against anyone who undermines the rights of any citizen.
“The meeting was short and straight to the point. It ended after five minutes. He asked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo if he had anything to say and he added nothing.”
Cautioning against what it called PDP’s recurring tendencies to destroy national institutions, the statement said: “Nigerians should be wary of the PDP’s fruitless attempts to destroy national institutions President Buhari is determined to rebuild.
“They started with the courts, the EFCC, then the police and now they are on the one-week old INEC. When will PDP allow our national institutions to do their job?”
The PDP had accused the Presidency, INEC and the security agencies of being involved in the “plot” to rig the Kogi election, adding that it had intelligence information that the INEC and security agencies had been ordered to ensure victory for the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the election.

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