INEC recruiting APC members as ad-hoc staff, PDP alleges

The Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in Ondo State,on Monday raised the alarm over what it described as the engagement of  members of the  All Progressives Party ( APC) by the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ) as its ad-hoc staff in the  November 26 gubernatorial election in the state.

This was contained in a statement by the publicity secretary of the party in the state,  Mr Banji Okunomo, who alleged  “the worrisome compromising attitude of the electoral body in  conniving with APC in all fronts to rig the forthcoming election.”

He stated that the party was putting together a petition against the body regarding the complaint.

“The trend started with the last presidential election where INEC ad-hoc staff played an ignoble role of deciding where voters should put cast their  votes.

“This time around, there are proofs that most of  the ad-hoc staff so far engaged to work with INEC on November 26 are APC card carrying members,” the PDP alleged.

Positing that the commission had derailed, the party claimed that it “discovered that an instruction came to INEC from Abuja asking its Ondo office to get a list of those to be  engaged  for the election from chairmen of the  APC  in each local government  of the state.”

The PDP further alleged that the INEC, in compliance with the order, had been recruiting APC members to help it run the coming election in the state.

It stated: “This alone  may rubbish the entire process as the outcome of the election may have been decided in favour of the APC by a partial umpire called INEC.”

Reacting, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Segun Agbaje, said the allegation was not only false but it was designed to stir controversy in the state.

He said: “This is a reckless accusation. How can somebody just sit down in the corner of his room and come out with such allegation just to cause problem? There is nothing like that.”