The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alerted the nation of what it says is a plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to use a frivolous lawsuit to scuttle the September 19 Edo State governorship election.
The national spokesman of the main opposition party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said at a press conference at the party secretariat in Abuja on Sunday that in a manner reminiscent of the 1993 election Association of Better Nigeria (ABN) lawsuit that stalled the process, the ruling party has allegedly recruited some groups to use the judiciary to halt the poll.
He said this is in APC’s realization that there is no way it can win in the election.
The PDP revealed that the said interests “who are masquerading through certain political groups” are seeking to blackmail the judiciary and stampede the court to violate the clear provisions of the Electoral Act and illegally halt the Edo election.
The party spokesman stated: “Nigerians are already aware that section 87(10) (11) of the Electoral Act, clearly prohibits the courts from restraining the conduct of party primaries and general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“This section of the Electoral Act has put paid to situations in the past, where groups or individuals who have no real stake in elections were used as cannon fodders by selfish individuals and groups to manipulate the courts and frustrate electoral process against the interest of the people.
“It is therefore clear that the aim of the APC is to use the political groups to drag in the judiciary, trigger constitutional crisis in Edo state, the Niger Delta region and the nation at large and blame it on the court.
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“The APC’s calculation is a reenactment of the similar judicial quagmire that led to the scuttling of the 1993 general election, a development that led to a serious national crisis that almost destroyed the corporate existence of our country.”
The PDP affirmed its stands with the people of Edo state in condemning this plot by the APC to derail the democratic order, scuttle the governorship election, create an emergency situation, forcefully seize power and foist an undemocratic and oppressive regime in Edo state.
Ologbondiyan added: “Our party, therefore, cautions such unpatriotic persons to note that the people of Edo state are ready to go to the poll on September 19 and will vehemently resist any attempt by anybody to tamper with the schedule of election or attempt a forceful takeover of their state.”
He also alleged that soldiers have been drafted to the residences of the former national chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and demanded that they should be immediately withdrawn.
He said: “Similarly, our Party has been informed of the drafting of Soldiers to the residence of the sacked former national chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in GRA Benin and Iyamho.
“Our Party holds that it is indecorous, shameful and sinful on the part of the APC and the Buhari Presidency to leave the flanks of our people in Katsina, Kaduna, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kogi open to bandits while Soldiers are guarding the residence of suspended Oshiomhole just to enable him to perpetrate electoral heist.
“Not even on the face of our current insecurity should such impudent and inconsiderate actions be considered.
“We, therefore, call on President Mohammadu Buhari, as the Commander-in-Chief to immediately withdraw the troops from Oshiomhole”s residence and deploy them to their constitutional duty post in the interest of our nation.
“On our part, the PDP and our candidate, Governor Godwin Obaseki, are prepared for the election and we counsel the APC to stop wasting its time in the court and take steps to withdraw from the contest if it is not ready to face the crushing defeat that awaits it and its candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu on September 19.”
The PDP also alleged that the APC was responsible for the fire incident at the Akure office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that destroyed card readers.
The party spokesman said that information available to it indicates that “the heinous act was perpetrated by agents of the APC as part of plots by APC leaders in the state to destroy INEC sensitive equipment so as to frustrate the conduct of credible, free and fair governorship election in the state
Ologbondiyan added: “It is clear that the APC has been in extreme fear over the soaring popularity of the PDP governorship candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, across the state, for which the APC has resorted to violence and underhand tactics, particularly after realising that there is no way its candidate, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who has failed the people can win in a transparent, free and fair election on October 10.
“Our party invites Nigerians to note that that the attack on the Ondo INEC office comes after, self-confessed APC militant and former APC in the state, Isaac Kekemeke, boasted that the APC will use violence to rig the October 10 election and that Governor Akeredolu was behind the violent political attacks rocking the state.
“Kekemeke had also boasted of APC’s plans to import armed thugs and militants to unleash mayhem in the state and disrupt a peaceful electoral process.
“It is therefore not by happenstance that the fire occurred in no other place than the facility where sensitive materials, such as card readers were stored, leading to the destruction of not less than 5141 card readers meant for the election were destroyed.
“Nigerians can recall that failure by security agencies to pull in individuals like Kekemeke and other APC hoodlums for questioning emboldened such brazen attack on INEC head office.
“Moreover, our party has also been reliably informed of plots by the APC to attack other INEC facilities in the state in its desperation to cripple the commission and impede to conduct of a credible poll.
“Our party restates our call on the security agencies to check the violence proclivities of the APC by immediately inviting Governor Akeredolu, Kekemeke and other APC leaders in Ondo state for questioning and possible extraction of undertaking from them ahead of the election.”
The PDP called on INEC to note that the APC “is after its facilities and as such put stronger measures to protect itself from the assaults of the APC.”
While noting that PDP will intensely monitor the process of replacement of the burnt card readers by INEC, he said this is to ensure that the APC did not succeed in their plots to manipulate the programming of the new card readers to suit their ugly plots of compromising sensitive data in the existing voters register in Ondo State.
Furthermore, the PDP urged the people of Ondo state to remain at alert and resist the APC in their plot to disrupt credible elections on October 10.
“Above all, we restate our call on Governor Akeredolu to accept that he has failed the people with his incompetent administration; he should come to terms to the fact that the people have rejected him and that no amount of violence will make them bend their resolve to replace him with the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, come October 10,” the party declared.
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