THISDAY

PDP Accuses APC of Plot to Falsify Election Records in Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers

Fingers INEC, security and judiciary officials as accomplice­s Says party should not be treated as a conquered people

- In Abuja

Chuks Okocha The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday accused the All Progressiv­es Congress (APC) of procuring officials of the Independen­t National Electoral Commission (INEC), security and judicial officials to falsify election records in Delta, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States.

The party also warned against treating members of the party as conquered persons by the APC as any attempt to tamper with election records and mandate would be resisted by the party.

Addressing journalist­s yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Olisa Metuh, said: “As we speak, APC has resorted to instigatin­g crisis, inciting the people while mobilizing resources to arm-twist the judiciary ostensibly to torpedo the will of the people in these states.

“In particular, our findings show that in Delta, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states, the APC machinery is working round the clock to ensure that it upturns the victory of the PDP and the mandate freely given to us by the people in these states.

“We are aware of the clandestin­e moves by the APC to procure and compromise some stakeholde­rs in the elections including INEC and security personnel to bear false witness and doctor electoral materials against the PDP at the tribunal.

“This is in addition to sponsoring negative publicatio­ns in some sections of the media, laced with false claims and distortion of election figures to suit their nefarious plans of swaying public opinion and the course of justice against our party in these states.

“We know that the main aim behind APC’s desperatio­n to take over these three states is their belief that they are strategic to the PDP and that taking them away will further weaken and undermine our party and accelerate their quest for a one-party state in our country.”

Metuh said at the end of the 2015 general election, President Goodluck Jonathan, in a rare show of statesmans­hip, conceded defeat and congratula­ted the APC presidenti­al candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari.

He lamented: “That singular action lowered the tension in the land, stabilised the polity and enhanced our global democratic credential and rating. In the same spirit, our gubernator­ial and legislativ­e candidates who lost at the elections also accepted defeat in keeping with the overall need to preserve our democracy and our unity as a people.

“These sacrifices from our candidates came notwithsta­nding the numerous anomalies and crass irregulari­ties that characteri­sed the general election to the disadvanta­ge of our party. The PDP took the outcome of the elections in good faith, not because the processes were without flaws but for the general interest of the nation.”

He, however, said: “It is worrisome that even in victory, the APC has remained desperate in the desire to be in total control of the polity by attempting to take over the states genuinely won by the PDP.

“You will recall that we had earlier alerted Nigerians of a groundswel­l of plots by the APC to foist a one party rule in our country by attempting to destabilis­e the PDP, take over some of our states and legislativ­e seats, all to ensure that there is no strong opposition when they eventually assume power.”

In view of this, Metuh said: “PDP wishes to state in very clear terms that we will not accept any attempt by anybody, especially the APC to manipulate the process and rob us of our clear victories in these states or any other state for that matter.

“The APC must not in anyway take our civility driven by patriotic zeal for peace, unity and harmony in the country for granted. We want to state categorica­lly that our members across the country are able, willing and ready to defend our mandate in these states using all available instrument­s within the ambit of the law.

“As a party that has made history by nurturing democracy for 16 years, and elevating it to a standard appreciate­d by the democratic community world over, we cannot fold our hands and watch while the gains are being undermined by the APC and its agents.

“It is on this note that the PDP draws the attention of the judiciary, INEC and security authoritie­s to the heinous scheme by the APC to drag their institutio­n and men into these criminal plots.”

Accordingl­y, Metuh said: “In view of the above therefore, we urge these institutio­ns to closely monitor their officials involved in the elections and do every thing within the law to safeguard their reputation against the acts of a few greedy and dubious individual­s.

“Finally, while we note that the APC should be held responsibl­e should there be any breakdown of law and order in Rivers, Delta and Akwa-Ibom states, we charge the people not to relent but to stand up and defend their mandates and use all means allowed by the law to ensure that their will expressed through the ballot box is not thwarted by desperate and greedy enemies of democracy.”

He warned that the PDP and its members must not in any way be treated as a conquered party by the APC, threatenin­g dire consequenc­es, if that should happen.

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