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From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Ogun State, Mrs Jackie Adunni Kassim, has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the alleged plans by some members of the party to forge her signature for withdrawing from the year 2023 governorship contest in the state.
Kassim in the petition dated August 12, signed by her counsel, Okaide Ibikunle Akinkugbe, Esq, and forwarded to the national headquarters of the INEC, alleged that some party officers have started mounting pressure on her to step down her ambition for a particular candidate after her emergence as the standard bearer of the party.
The gubernatorial candidate in the petition further stated that her refusal to yield to the pressure to withdraw, however, informed the decision of those she described as “unscrupulous elements” within the state chapter of NNPP to consider the option of forging her signature on the withdrawal form to pave way for their preferred candidate.
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The petition reads in part:
“It has come to the attention of our client that some unscrupulous elements within the party, who have formed an unholy alliance and who are still bent on achieving their sinister motives have fashioned out a plan to forward to your commission, a letter of withdrawal purportedly written by our client with a forged signature of our client endorsing same.
“In view of this, we have our client’s instructions to inform your Commission that she has not submitted any letter of withdrawal from the gubernatorial race to the party and neither has she instructed the party to transmit any of such letter to your commission as required by the relevant provisions of the amended Electoral Act.”
Mrs Kassim in the petition, copies of which she made available to the Ogun State office of the Commission as well as the national headquarters of NNPP, also urged the INEC to treat as forgery, any correspondence from the party indicating that she had withdrawn from the race.
