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Flags of the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party
The Peoples Democratic Party on Friday alleged that the All Progressives Congress has perfected plans to bring in fake technical staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission to tamper with the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System to rig the 2024 Edo State governorship election scheduled to be held on September 21.
Speaking at a press conference in Benin, the state capital, the state PDP Chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, said the APC did not meet the requirement in uploading party agents in 3,037 polling units and 17 local governments.
Aziegbemi said, “To our amazement, the APC did not meet the requirement in 3,037 polling units and in 17 local governments, which means the APC has polling agents in only 1,482 polling units and one local government agent. Th3 PDP uploaded polling agents in 4,378 polling units, but could not meet the requirements in 141 polling units.
“A party that cannot upload its polling unit agents in two-thirds of the polling units cannot be trusted with power in our state. We demand that no political party be allowed to correct this anomaly.”
The state PDP chairman added, “Secondly, we wish to draw the attention of INEC and Edolites to the sinister plan of the APC which has been uncovered by our intelligence unit. APC has perfected a plan to use fake INEC Staff posing as technical staff to tamper with the BVAS machine on election day to beef up the number of accredited voters on the BVAS machine.
“We demand that INEC publish in good time the names and pictures of all appointed RTECs for the election and their posting.”
The PDP, in a statement on Friday, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, charged the INEC to “firmly resist the plot by the APC to smuggle in unaccredited polling and collation agents after the APC failed to meet the deadline stipulated by the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC guidelines for the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.
“This further confirms the PDP’s position that the APC and its lacklustre candidate, Monday Okpebholo, have never been prepared for any democratic contest in the Edo State governorship election but only waiting to manipulate the election against the will of the people of Edo State.
“The PDP, therefore, calls on INEC and the security agencies to ensure the credibility of the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election by resisting the pressure by APC leaders to violate the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC Guidelines by allowing the APC to smuggle in thugs and unaccredited individuals as Polling Agents.”
Reacting to the allegations, the Media Director, APC Campaign Council, Kazeem Afegbua, said that the APC is busy campaigning and telling the electorate what they will do for them.
He said, “The PDP has just told the public what they are planning to do but the bad news is that we are monitoring them bumper to bumper. There is no escape route for Governor Obaseki and his godson, Asue Ighodalo.
“We have told the world before now that Governor Obaseki brought hackers and cloners to Edo to ensure that the BIVAS are tampered with, while also cloning our candidate’s voice.
“Now, they saw that is not working, they now want to devise another method. By Monday and Tuesday, they have perfected plans to stage protests across the state asking that their criminal elements should not.be arrested. ”
Afegbua stated that the PDP “should stop using Edo money to bring Rema for a show. He should be advised to stay away from the dubious politics of Governor Obaseki, and instead face his flourishing music career as a career singer. Governor Obaseki did not contribute anything to the rise of Rema, he should not reap opportunistically from the young man’s fame. Our market women need help, use such monies to help them.”
