The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Lagos State has raised the alarm over an alleged attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC to manipulate the forthcoming elections through oppression and intimidation of voters through the use of state agencies in Lagos.
State PDP, Publicity Secretary, and Chairman, Media, and Publicity, JandorFunke 2023 Gubernatorial Campaign Council, Hakeem Amode, made the claim at a media briefing on Monday, held at Liberty House, 25, Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos.
The statement was titled: Manipulation, oppression and intimidation of voters through the use of state agencies in Lagos.”
PDP, therefore, called the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba Alkali, to intervene in the development.
Amode alleged that the ruling APC had embarked on voter manipulation in the state, ahead of 2023 polls, through the use of information on Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) surreptitiously demanded from their owners, saying that the plot had reached a proportion where it was now being aided by the state government apparatus.
This was just as Amode said recent unconfirmed reports received by the party indicated that some unscrupulous INEC staff were colluding with members of the ruling party in the state to deny some groups of people access to a collection of their PVCs.
According to a PDP spokesperson, who disclosed that the party had already petitioned INEC over the matter, government, officials were using their position to collect voters’ information and requesting the submission of photocopies of PVCs as a prerequisite for work permits in transport parks and trading in the markets, saying it viewed these directives and actions as amounting to hoodwinking the electorate and an attempt by the party to manipulate the 2023 elections ahead of the exercise.
He described the plot as a misnomer and, therefore, the need to draw the attention of stakeholders to it.
“I address you today to call your attention to the ongoing voter manipulation being embarked upon by the ruling APC in Lagos State. The manipulation has reached a proportion where it is now being aided by the state government apparatus and we found it imperative to call your attention to the misnomer.
“We are aware of the ruling APC government officials using their position to collect voters’ information and requesting the submission of photocopies of Permanent Voter Cards – PVCs as a prerequisite for work permits in transport parks and trading in the markets.
“We view these directives and actions as hoodwinking and an attempt by the ruling APC government to manipulate the 2023 election ahead.
“The PDP in Lagos State is hereby calling the attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Inspector General of Police, and all well-meaning Nigerians to the electoral fraud being committed before the conduct of the 2023 elections by the ruling APC government in Lagos State.
“In consonance with the promise of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, to deliver a credible election which we have seen the demonstration in Ekiti and Osun state gubernatorial elections.
“We are using this opportunity to call the attention of the President, the Chairman of INEC and the Inspector General of Police to the voter manipulation anomalies currently going on in Lagos State,” he stated.
“We cannot afford to continue to allow the ruling party to continue the display of entitled hegemony in a democratic society.
“We believe the people have a say in whom is elected to form a government and the sanctity of their choice should be respected and protected under the electoral law and process,” he said.
APC reacts
Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Seye Oladejo, described the allegation as another “unsubstantiated allegation.”
According to Oladejo, “I believe that the seasonal confusion that always precedes the opposition’s perennial defeat since the advent of this democracy in 1999 is rearing its ugly head again.
“Voters in Lagos state are already wary of the antics of the PDP whose stock in trade is to level wild and unsubstantiated allegations to confuse an undiscerning public.
“The APC in Lagos state has been busy campaigning to all and sundry and to all the nooks, corners and crannies of the state.
“Our robust campaign has ensured that APC remains the only visible party in the state as far as awareness for the forthcoming elections is concerned.
“The PDP could approach the relevant law enforcement agencies whenever they feel their rights are being trampled upon rather than embark on fruitless media onslaught for cheap political gain.
“They are also advised to look inward and address their intractable crisis which has polarized the party beyond repair.
“It’s also imperative to operate within the laws of the state as regards the placement of outdoor advertisements rather than resort to arm-twisting tactics.”
Leave a Reply