The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun state has vowed to resist any attempt by the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola led All Progressives Congress (APC) government to rig the next year governorship election in the state.
Osun PDP said it will fight with every energy at its disposal to combat the perpetrators of electoral fraud with lawful force.
The party alleged that it has got wind of plans by Aregbesola to manipulate the continuous registration program of the state Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by using pictures and biometric of secondary school students and some non residents of the state to create fake voting units ahead of next year’s governorship election.
The party in a release issued and signed by its Chairman, Hon. Soji Adagunodo and made available to newsmen in Osogbo disclosed that credible sources within the government of the state have alleged that the governor has perfected plans to compromise some officials of the state INEC to carry out the secret registration of hundreds of thousands of non eligible voters in order to implement its rigging plans in favour of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the next governorship election.
According to Adagunodo, part of the plans is to allocate fewer and or non functional registration machines to some local governments in order to disenfranchise voters while using more machines for the secret registration exercise in the Government House and other non approved centres.
He recalled that the APC used similar methods with the aid of the former state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Rufus Akeju in the build up to the 2014 governorship elections.
The PDP chairman then called on the leadership of INEC at the National level to beam its searchlight on Osun state ahead of the voters registration exercise and other preparatory steps ahead of next year’s general elections in order to avoid unnecessary tension in the state.
He also called on the governor and other principal actors in the evil plans of manipulating the voters register to shelve such plans in the interest of peace and sustenance of democratic harmony in the state.
Adagunodo tasked the Police, DSS and other security agencies to be more proactive and impartial in preventing this unwholesome plans of the governor and his cohorts which could truncate a peaceful transition of power in the state.
The PDP also urged all INEC and ad hoc staff to adhere to their oath of duties and resist any alleged plans by the APC to use them for the planned manipulation of the voters registration exercise in any part of the state.
But the APC in a swift reaction described the PDP allegation as evil.
APC through its Director of Research and Publicity, Mr Kunle Oyatomi said “We in the APC challenged them on their honour and pride to provide proof of their allegations or in the alternative name their source of information, so that security forces may go after them.”
Packaged by Bunmi Oladejo
