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EDO State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday alerted that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has perfected plans to rig Saturday’s governorship election by creating pockets of violence across the state during the exercise.
ACN governors were also accused of contributing N2 billion to rig the election.
The PDP said that the ACN had already brought into Benin the leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), Alhaji Asari Dokubo, along with 500 of his boys to intimidate the electorate and unleash mayhem in some polling units.
Director of Publicity of the PDP, Mr. Okharedia Ihimekpen, said yesterday that the plan was to create the conditions of violence that would enable ballot box snatching and stuffing, film the process and turn around to point finger of guilt at the PDP to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and the party’s expected victory at the poll.
“This is a fact that cannot be denied by either Dokubo or the ACN’s leadership guard in Edo State. Dokubo has been paid by the state government to carry out this uncivilized and anti-democratic mission. He (Dokubo) has not hidden that fact; he has been threatening war in the event the election is rigged and Governor Oshiomhole loses.
“The PDP is committed to winning this election on the basis of transparent voting. It is the ACN that is planning to rig and because adequate anti-rigging machinery is being put in place to check against rigging, the ACN leaders have become frantic and have now been making bogus claims to be able to rationalize, after the election, the defeat of their candidate.”
Ihimekpen said “their plan is to storm polling units, especially in the strongholds of the PDP, cause a bedlam, snatch boxes and stuff them with fake ballot papers thumb-printed in favour of the PDP so as to justify to the world that the PDP is the culprit of election rigging. This and others are their grand designs.
Also, South-West chapter of PDP has thrown accusation of recruitment of over 1,000 thugs against the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, alleging him of planning to use them during and after the election.
The party called on security agencies to probe Aregbesola’s outburst that “come July 14, heaven will fall if Oshiomhole loses election”, arguing that, “what Aregbesola said was akin to declaring war on the country”.
According to the Zonal Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kayode Babade, in a statement yesterday, “Aregbesola must be held responsible if anything untoward happens in Edo State after the election”.
The party also accused the ACN governors in Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Oyo and Ekiti States of contributing N2 billion public fund to prosecute the Edo State election.
Nigerians, especially security agencies should take notice of Aregbesola’s comment at the campaign rally held for Adams Oshiomhole on Saturday that heaven will fall if Oshiomhole is not announced as the winner of the election, and act appropriately.
“Most importantly, we are aware that Aregbesola is in charge of recruitment of thugs for the election and he has already recruited over 1,000 thugs.
“The thugs are to be moved to Edo State from Wednesday, using government vehicles,” Babade alleged. Alleging ACN governors of using public fund to prosecute the Edo state election, the PDP also disclosed: “We are aware that a sum of N2 billion is being raised by the five ACN governors in the South-West to buy voters during the election. “It is their assumption that if 650,000 votes can be bought at N3,000 per vote, Oshiomhole will win comfortably. And for this purpose, the five South-West governors have been mandated to contribute N2 billion to prosecute the ‘see and buy’ strategy.
“We are, therefore, warning the governors to desist from wasting funds meant for the development of Yorubaland on electoral adventures in Nigeria and other countries in Africa.”
Ihimekpen said that “Tinubu’s reference at the ACN’s mega rally in Benin to the 3,500 soldiers being deployed to Edo State for the election as being done against the Edo electorate was patently dishonest and hypocritical.”
Ihimekpen also said the ACN was the one who alleged that the PDP was planning to rig election and that it was planning to import thugs who would cause violence in the state during the election, adding: “Why was the ACN National Leader making it look as if the deployment of soldiers was at the instance of the PDP?”
He stated that the deployment of soldiers to complement regular policemen was part of Federal Government’s effort to ensure peace and order during the election, pointing out that soldiers had been used in some states before now to keep the peace.
Meanwhile, the PDP candidate, Major-General Charles Airhiavbere, has described as mischievous and unfounded the allegation by Oshiomhole that he tagged students of the state-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, as criminals, saying that there was no such conception or imagination during last week live television debate in the state.
Airhiavbere, who stated this in an interview with newsmen in Benin, said that his towering popularity in the state is intimidating to that Oshiomhole and his re-election bid.
He said the clarification has become important, especially when he has in his manifesto stated that if elected governor of the state, the school for students of the institution would be returned to N18,000 which is what it was before the coming of the governor.
“I believe that they are our children, we are bringing them up to be leaders of tomorrow. I will never call them criminals and I will not also encourage an environment that will portray them as such and that was exactly is happening in Edo State today.”
The PDP candidate carpeted the ACN led-administration for not paying the deserved priority to budgetary allocation for education in the face of what it called government of continuity instead of government of discontinuity, adding that when assumes power come July 14, he would terminate such anomalies that have characterised the present state government.
“I call it the government of discontinuity. The PDP has put the machinery in place to make sure that the government is terminated come July 14. The welfare of the people of Edo State is paramount to any government.”
The PDP candidate further challenged the Oshiomhole administration to account to the people of the state how much his administration has so far spent in the construction of dual carriage Airport Road, a contract he (Airhiavbere) stated had gulped about N13bn.
“The issue of the Airport Road, I said that the total contract sum today is well over N13 billion for road that is less than seven kilometers. I want the governor to explain and members of the state House of Assembly and especially his team that is having an oversight function to explain to Edo people how the contract of N13 billion for less than seven kilometers road has gulped the common wealth of our people. These are the two issues and not calling names and not addressing the issues.”
Giving further clarifications on his retirement from the Nigerian Army, he said he was not ready to join issues with his ACN counterpart, stressing that he retired meritoriously from the force and was never detained nor tried for any offence or on any issue.
“And like I explained, I will not win the distinguished service star if I was ever found with any misdemeanour in my career. Two, I will not be given the Corps medal of honour of the Nigerian Army Finance Corps if I was found wanting.
It is important that this is an issue that has to do with a very regimented system, the Nigerian Army that is established in Nigeria by an Act of law. So, I do not want to join issues with him but I know that the Comrade Governor is the richest ever known.”
He said he looked forward to more debate with Oshiomhole where, according to him, he will shock the people of the state on the secrets of the government of the day.
The PDP candidate, therefore, called on the people of the state to make the wise choice on Saturday through their votes.
On the allegation that he signed a secret contract with the former Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, he said: “I have never signed any contract with anybody. That is even not my signature and it shows the level of insincerity”
He described the ruling party as “a group of people who are desperate to continue to subvert, steal and traumatise our people” but said these are “going to stop.”
But the Director of publicity of Oshiomhole’s campaign organization, Kazzim Afegbua and the state chairman of ACN, Thomas Okosun, when contacted by our correspondent yesterday for comments on the allegations failed to pick their calls.
