THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, on Monday, alleged that the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has started bringing in ammunition and political thugs from Lagos and Osun states into the state in a bid to win the coming Saturday by-election into the vacant House of Representatives seat of Oke Ero/Irepodun/Ekiti/Isin federal constituency.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the state chairman of the PDP, Engineer Kola Shittu, alleged that the motive behind the importation was to disrupt and manipulate the forthcoming exercise.
The PDP chairman, who said that he had it on good authority that some suspected political thugs were already in the state, alleged that a leader of the NURTW in Lagos state would arrive the federal constituency with many others from tomorrow (Tuesday).
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“The imported thugs, we learnt, will be camped at different hotels in Ekiti, Oke Ero, Isin and Irepodun local government areas from where they will be operating. The plan of the APC is to deploy these thugs to harass and intimidate members and supporters of the PDP from turning up at voting centres, especially in areas considered to be the stronghold of our party. This will also give the APC leeway to carry out their planned rigging,” he said.
Engineer Shittu also said that the federal government planned to deploy no fewer than 20,000 policemen and soldiers for the Saturday by-election, adding that the deployment was a ploy by the APC led FG to create fear in minds of the voters.
“We also believe that this heavy deployment of security officers is deliberate because Kwara is the home-base of the Senate President. Our party condemns in its entirety this unnecessary show of force,” he said.
The PDP state chairman, who said that members and supporters of the party in the state were at alert, added that the party would resist every attempt by the APC to undermine the electoral process.
“The APC should know that if their rigging machinery worked somewhere else, it will never work in Kwara state. The people of Ekiti, Oke Ero, Isin and Irepodun will defend their votes in this coming election and will not allow the APC to subvert their will,” he said.
The party also called on security agencies in the State to look into all the concerns it raised in other to take proactive steps to protect the nation’s fragile democracy and forestall breakdown of law and order, adding that INEC and security agencies should provide a level playing field for all parties to ensure a credible electoral process on November 17.
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