PDP accuses APC of planning to rig governorship, houses of assembly elections

- The Peoples Democratic Party in Plateau state has accused the All Progressives Congress of plotting to rig the state governorship and houses of assembly elections in the state

- The allegation was made by the PDP chairman in the state during a press conference in Jos on Tuesday, March 5

- The director general of the APC governorship campaign, denied the allegation, describing it as totally false

Ahead of the forthcoming governorship and state houses of assembly elections slated for March 9, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau state has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to rig the polls.

Chief Damishi Sango, the party’s chairman in the state, made the allegation at a press conference in Jos on Tuesday, March 5.

According to Sango, the APC has “perfected plans” to use the security agents and other critical election stakeholders to rig the polls in its favour, News Agency of Nigeria reports.

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Legit.ng gathers that Sango alleged that the ruling party was plotting to “use the military to intimidate, harass and cause fear among the people in all parts of the state”.

He further alleged that the ruling party was planning to frustrate voters in PDP strongholds by tampering with voting machines and ensuring the late arrival of electoral officials and materials.

Sango, however, described the national elections held on February 23 as “a huge success for the PDP in Plateau”, saying that the opposition won “in spite of the heavy rigging”.

He said: “The Feb. 23 election was a huge success, but intelligence reports available to us indicate that the APC and Gov Simon Lalong are busy working on plans to rig the second exercise.

“As I address you, we have detailed information on the specific local government areas and locations where they intend to intimidate and harass voters at both polling points and collation centres.”

Sango also alleged that civil servants, particularly those on the directorate cadre, as well as principals of secondary schools, were under pressure to deliver their areas to the incumbent governor.

He said: “From our findings, the officials have been ordered to deliver their areas in favour of the incumbent government or risk losing their jobs."

The chairman appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and security agents to be neutral and transparent during and after the elections.

He said: “Those saddled with election duties must be transparent and avoid actions capable of truncating the existing peace in Plateau."

Sango urged Plateau voters to elect Lt. Gen Jeremiah Useni (rtd), for governor and also vote for PDP candidates contesting House of Assembly seats across the state.

He said: “I understand the pains of Plateau people over the massive cancellation of their votes in certain areas in the national elections, but I want to appeal to them to put that behind and vote massively for the PDP so as to restore the lost glory of the state."

The chairman appealed to PDP members and supporters to be orderly during the election, adding, however, that they must be alert and be determined to ensure that the right thing is done.

Reacting to the allegations, Pam Dug Gyang, director general of the APC governorship campaign, described the clams as “totally false”.

He said: “I am not aware of any plan to rig the elections. We have campaigned hard and tried to sell our candidate to the Plateau people. We went to every local government and have embarked on a door-to-door campaign.

“We have done a lot to appeal to the voters and we believe they will vote for us. We have no fear. If we had planned to win by rigging, we shall not campaign this hard.

“Rigging is not in our plans. We do not steal votes. Those who steal votes are those that think that everyone is doing the same thing. We are busy and focused on securing the people’s mandate. We won’t be distracted by such antics."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) colluded with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the Saturday, February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections.

The party made the allegation in a letter signed by its national chairman, Uche Secondus, which was presented to INEC during a protest staged by the party on Tuesday, March 5.

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Source: Legit.ng

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