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From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi and Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged plots by the People Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the governorship and state House of Assembly elections.
It claimed they had credible intelligence that PDP after last Saturday’s defeat has perfected plans to rig the polls, vent their anger on Benue people and visit them with mayhem.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Daniel Ihomun, APC alleged that already, the PDP has started unleashing mayhem in parts of the state.
“A secret meeting was also held in Government House where a plan was hatched to rig the governorship and State Houses of Assembly election slated for Saturday, March 11. The plan is to totally boycott BVAS, influence the reposting of INEC Staff (polling officers, collation officers and returning officers), create violence in APC strongholds, engage in vote buying and use members of the recently established Community Volunteer Guards to instigated crisis in border communities to whip up anti-Fulani and religious sentiments amongst the people for political gain.”
The party called on INEC to put modalities in place to check incidences of non-use of BVAS during the election, early opening and closing of polls on election day and protection of polling units, collation centres and protection of staff.
But the PDP debunked the allegation saying the APC was only crying wolf knowing the failure that awaits it.
The party’s state Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, in a statement said the APC was afraid knowing PDP would be more vigilant and not blindly trust in the electoral system put in place and run by APC as it did with the presidential and National Assembly polls.
In a related development, the Delta State chapter of the PDP has accused the APC of plot to distabilise voting in its strongholds in the forthcoming governorship and state House of Assembly elections.
It also alerted security agencies of alleged plots by APC to cause mayhem, kill and snatch ballot boxes.
The party, in a statement by the state Publicity Secretary, Deputy Director, Media, and Publicity, Delta PDP Campaign Council, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza, drew the attention of the authorities to the violent expressions of one Martins who exposed the alleged APC’s scheme to cause violence.
Addressing journalists in Asaba, Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, declared that Delta remains a PDP state, alleging, however, that there were plans by the opposition to distabilise voting in areas where PDP would record almost 100 per cent of votes.
The Publicity Secretary of APC, Valentine Onojegho, described the allegations as lies from the pit of hell, insisting that the PDP no longer has strongholds in the state going by the outcome of the February 25 elections.
