The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State on Thursday accused the opposition APC of flouting the peace accord for free and fair elections by destroying campaign materials and billboards of the party opponents.
The State acting chairman of the party, Issac Mffo stated this during a press conference held at the party secretariat in Makurdi.
Mffo also decried the situation where some criminal elements in the state are going around collecting voter identification details of people in rural areas.
Mffo said that the development had created confusion and anxiety in the state.
According to him, “We understand, therefore, the weight of the responsibility on us to lead from the front going into the coming elections, and both lawfully and morally, we are fulfilling the requirements expected of us as a political party, having signed to the Peace Accord for free and fair elections together with our opponents and as well we have been in the lead of interfacing with relevant agencies of state for the purpose of ensuring a healthy atmosphere within which to hold peaceful electioneering campaigns.
“We have received notices from and held meetings with the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), the Benue State Urban Development Board, and the Advertisement Regulatory Commission of Nigeria (ARCON), the purpose being for us to abide by the rules governing the conduct of campaigns in the areas of mounting of billboards, pasting of posters as well as placement of advertisements.
“We have paid stipulated levies for carrying out some of the above-listed activities, and this we do to lead by example as the ruling political party in Benue State, however, sadly, many of the campaign materials we have mounted have been vandalized and destroyed by our opponents who are yet to be known or apprehended by security agents whom we have taken this matter to.
He added, “There is also the matter of anxiety and confusion being generated by the activities of some yet-to-be-identified elements who are reported to be going about in our rural areas with documents with which they are requesting and in some cases collecting voter identification details of our people.
“The motives of such elements are suspect and while we call on the people to shun them and their activities, we also call on security agents to investigate and apprehend those persons, as their activities very likely could be targeted at subverting the electoral process and distorting the popular mandate of Benue electorate.
Meanwhile, the State chairman of the main opposition All Progressives Congress, Austin Agada described the accusation leveled against opposition parties in the state as the pot calling the kettle black.
Agada, however, asked the PDP leadership in the state to name those behind collecting voters’ details, saying, “let PDP in the state mention those behind collecting voters’ details because it is PDP that controls the resources to buy PVCs from the people.”
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