… It’s cheap propaganda, says Olisa Metuh
The All Progressives Congress (APC) spoke yesterday of a plot by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the governorship election which will hold in Osun State tomorrow.
The party also claimed that the PDP plans to arrest about 14 of its chieftains probably today. But the PDP through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the allegation was cheap propaganda.
National Chairman, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who raised the alarm during a press conference in Osogbo yesterday, also said the PDP may announce projected fake results in all the 30 Local Government Areas. He said the party has intercepted the two documents prepared by the PDP to perfect the alleged rigging.
The first is a ‘secret’ document marked “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL’’ that contains a meticulous outline of plans to rig the election, polling unit by polling unit, using pre-programmed ballot papers already designed and thumbprinted with vanishing ink in favour of PDP.
The second document, entitled, ‘’Task Force: Operation (PDP) takeover of Osun”, lists the actions to be taken at most of the 30 Local Government Areas, including thuggery, snatching of ballot boxes and instigation of violent clashes, the PDP members to coordinate the recommended actions and the APC members to be arrested to pave the way for such actions.
The APC said the ‘secret’ document further contains the plan to deploy specified numbers of impression ballot papers and vanishing ink in 1,195 polling units across 155 wards in all the local government areas, in addition to a plan to de-register 47,000 voters, whose Voters Identification Numbers have been illegally acquired, so, they won’t find their names on the voters’ register on election day.
It said the document also contains the number of pre-allotted votes for each local government to make up the number of 406,116, which the PDP has pre-allotted to itself even before the commencement of voting!
APC gave the breakdown of the self-allotted figures, as contained in the document to include: Atakumosa East (10,000); Atakumosa West (10,000), Ayedaade (15,000), Ayedire (10,000), Boluwaduro (5,000); Boripe (10,000); Ede North (10,130); Ede South (10,000); Egbedore (10,000); Ejigbo (15,000); Ife Central (35,000); Ifedayo (7,000); Ife East (33,018); Ifelodun (15,000) and Ife North (20,000).
Others listed in the rigging document are: Ife South (20,000); Ila (10,000); Ilesa East (10,000); Ilesa West (10,340); Irepodun (10,007); Irewole (20,105); Isokan (10,000); Iwo (15,000); Obokun (10,203); Odo-Otin (10,107); Ola-Oluwa (5,070); Olorunda (15,000); Oriade (10,000); Orolu (7,936 and Osogbo (28,000).
The party said the elaborate and audacious plan is to be carried out in connivance with key INEC officials from the national headquarters, and those deployed from other states, with the staunch backing of all security agencies deployed for the election, with particularly-mobilised personnel, former militants and masked thugs impersonating security officials under a combined team code named, ‘Election Task Force’, directly under the instructions of some ministers and party chieftains.
It said the mandate of the task force includes the intimidation, harassment and arrest of APC party chieftains, agents and sympathizers who are uncompromising or refuse their offer of filthy lucre. APC said the second document, a part of which was written in longhand, contained even more damning evidence that the PDP has decided to employ rigging, thuggery and other acts of violence to ‘win’ Osun at all costs on Saturday.
For example, the party said, the document lists members of the ‘Omisore Youth Forum’ who must be supported with the deployment of a ‘Strike Force’’ to foment trouble on election day. Also, APC members to be arrested include Moshood Abdulahi, Akorede Lawal and Basiru Awobode (Isokan Ward 3); Femi Fasoro, Lanre Abu, Taiye Alapa, Seyi Elese and Taye Johnson (Ilesa West); Dele Nafui (Ayedire); Peter Babalola (Irewole) as well as Ramah Ajiboye, Johnson Ojo, Adedeji Soji and Alimi Kajogbola (Ede South).
Meanwhile, APC has said it is not true that the military command is unaware of the plan to use soldiers to rig the Osun election, as 38 Army officers were dispatched to Osun on Wednesday and were part of the team that disrupted the rally that was to be held in Osogbo by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in support of Gov. Aregbesola.
APC said the outlined rigging plans explain why the PDP has been boasting repeatedly that it would capture Osun, having successfully executed similar plans in Delta Senatorial, Anambra governorship and Ekiti governorship elections.
‘’We also call on the Acting IGP and other security agents to show to Nigerians that they are truly professional men and women of honour. We appeal to all Nigerians and particularly the Osun electorates to be extra vigilant and ensure that their will is not subverted by this on-rushing brigade of evil,’’ the party said, vowing to put all machinery in place to safeguard the mandate of its teeming supporters and resist all forms of intimidation or devilish manipulation of the voting process.
APC said it is confident that, in the end, millions of soldiers, police and other security agents are not enough to take on the people and crush their will, much as they will try to.
Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday dismissed allegation that it was planning to rig the poll. Metuh dismissed it as cheap propaganda to whip us sentiments. He said one of the legacies of President Goodluck Jonathan was free and fair election, as enshrined in one man-one-vote.
“How can we be planning to rig? Jonathan legacy is one man-one-vote and we remain committed to that.
“It is cheap blackmail and a distraction. The truth is that voting and counting will be open and we are sensitisng our people. It is pure gimmick. We are focused and won’t be distracted. After the election, which we hope to win, APC can continue with its distraction,” he said.
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APC alleges PDP’s plot to rig Osun poll |
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