The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has uncovered an orchestrated plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to derail the nation’s democracy by compromising the integrity and sabotaging the will and desire of the people for a free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process in the Saturday July 16, 2022 governorship election in Osun State.
Spokesman for the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, in a statement on Friday said the APC has accentuated its rigging programme by deploying billions of naira to compromise some security and electoral officers to intimidate voters, manipulate electoral process and inordinately favour the APC Candidate, Governor Gboyega Oyetola, against the will of the people.
The PDP said it has been made aware of how huge sums of money have been funneled to certain compromised security and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to execute this ignoble scheme.
“The said INEC and security officials are reported to have been bought over to among other things, criminally assist and provide cover for APC agents to prosecute a well-oiled vote buying and violence-triggering scheme.
“Our Party has information on how two prominent APC Governors from the South West, a former APC National Chairman from the South South, certain federal Minister and a particular member of the House of Assembly from Lagos State are coordinating the release of billions of naira to bribe electoral and security officials as well as fund heavily armed thugs imported from Lagos, Ondo, Ogun and other South West States to unleash violence and help the APC to rig the election.
“The PDP alerts of a leaked report of how the APC released N20 million and N15 million respectively to two top police officers; N10 million to four Assistant Inspector General of Police, N5 million each to four Commissioners of Police, N3 million each to 15 Deputy Commissioners of Police, N2million each to 30 Assistant Commissioners of Police to compromise the electoral process.
“Our Party also has further reports of how the APC released the sum of N10 million per Local Government Area for INEC officials in all the 30 Local Government Areas in Osun Steta, N7million to thugs masquerading as Amotekun officials and a huge sum of money for propaganda to a certain compromised media outfit.
“The PDP has however been made aware that some patriotic INEC and Police officials vehemently rejected the poisonous offer by the APC. Our Party salutes the courage and patriotism of such officers who resisted the APC for the love of our country.
“The PDP calls on the Inspector General of Police and the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu to take immediate decisive steps to check the activities of police and INEC officials deployed to Osun State so as to avert a breakdown of Law and Order, especially given the manifest determination of the people of Osun State to resist the APC on its evil scheme,” Hon Ologunagba enunciated.
The PDP demanded that the Police and INEC immediately rejig their formations in Osun State as a step to assuage, reassure the electorate and prevent an impending crisis in the state.
The opposition party further urged the people of Osun to remain undeterred and focused in their determination to free their State from the “misrule” of the APC.