From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Sokoto State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of electoral fraud and violence during the March 18th governorship and state assembly elections.
In a statement released by the state party chairman, Muhammad Bello Aliyu Goronyo, the PDP claimed that its members were killed and maimed during the elections, while the number of people recorded to have voted exceeded the actual number of voters.
“The party is not unmindful of the ordeal that its teaming members are being subjected to, deliberately by the leadership of the APC. This situation was plotted deliberately by the appointment of the Minister of Police Affairs as the Director General of the APC Campaign Council in the state,” the statement read.
The PDP also accused the APC of misusing security forces to arrest, harass, and intimidate its members.
“Since the announcement of the result of the election which purportedly gave legitimacy to unprecedented electoral fraud in the state, the much anticipated political violence which characterises the APC antecedent in the state has manifested in alarming proportion across all the Local Government in the state,” the statement added.
The PDP said it was in possession of “disturbing evidence on the violation of the Electoral Act,” and would take appropriate measures to ensure that the right of the voters is upheld.
The party also condemned the killing of three citizens in Shagari, the son of a PDP supporter in the Tudun Wada area, and the alleged robbery of over three hundred bags of grains from a businesswoman in Katami.
“Meanwhile, instead of arresting and arraigning the perpetrators to face justice, security is busy focusing attention on PDP supporters based on prompting by the APC leadership in the state. We are therefore using this medium to assure all PDP supporters and law-abiding citizens in the state that these callous acts are being followed to ensure justice for the victims,” the statement concluded.