PDP gave INEC 24-hour
ultimatum to come out clean by explaining the modalities for Saturday’s poll as
it would fold its arm and allow the election to be rigged in favour of the
ruling party.
The People’s Democratic
Party, PDP, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC of
hoarding vital information on the November 16 Kogi Governorship election and
conniving with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to rig the poll.
This is contained in a
statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary and
made available to journalists in Lokoja on Tuesday. The party called on the
electoral umpire to end its “apparent tilt towards underhandedness in the
processes leading to the election.
Ologbondiyan said “INEC’s
failure to openly inform stakeholders on the election modalities, particularly
the use of card readers, the mode of accreditation, voting, as well as
collation, transmission and declaration of election results from the polling
units to the final declaration, raises questions on the sincerity of the
commission to deliver a credible election.”
The PDP alerted that such
suppression of vital information ahead of this crucial election heightened
public suspicion and allegations of conspiracies between INEC and the All
Progressives Congress (APC) to muddle up and manipulate the electoral processes
to favour the APC.
The party cautioned that
the situation was already generating tension in the state, given the insistence
of the people for a transparent, free and credible election that would only
reflect their wishes and aspirations at the polls.
“Our party forewarns the
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, not to cause trouble in Kogi state by
immediately declaring the mode of transmission of results given the claims by
the commission, before the Presidential Election Petition Panel, that it does
not have a server.”
The PDP charged the INEC
Chairman not to allow the Commission to be entangled with the sinister plots of
the APC and that he should immediately clear the air on the manner of
accreditation of voters, checking of voter register disparities, the modality
for voting as well as whether the commission will deploy manual or electronic
transmission of election results to the final declaration.
“The PDP wants INEC to know
that the party and the people of Kogi state are not leaving anything to chance
in this election.
“For the people of Kogi
state, this election marks their irrevocable determination to entrench a new
order in their state and they are not ready to accept any process that does not
point to assurances of a transparent, credible, free and fair election.
“Our party therefore
requests the management of INEC to provide answers to these crucial issues
within the next 24 hours as its silence is already spawning anxieties, which
are capable of triggering serious crisis ahead of the election,” he said,
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