The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State has accused the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the state of planning to subvert the April 11, State Assembly election.
Chairman of the Media and Publicity sub-committee of the State Election Action Committee of the APC, Mallam Sheidu Ibrahim, disclosed this at a press conference in Lokoja yesterday.
“Information reaching the APC from the three senatorial districts shows that PDP is allegedly planning to connive with INEC/ad-hoc staff towards perfecting a plan to discard the use of card readers at various polling units to their advantage,” he said.
According to him, APC also gathered that the PDP had allegedly recruited thousands of hoodlums statewide and armed them with assorted weapons to disrupt the forthcoming election especially in areas where our party is largely in firm control,” he said.
He further alleged that the political thugs would embark on indiscriminate gun shooting on the eve of the election to scare the electorate, especially women, from coming out to exercise their franchise. He added that should the plan fail, they had instructed the thugs to precipitate crisis at the polling units with the aim of carting electoral materials away.
Ibrahim however called on security agencies to be on the alert to forestall any breakdown of law and order saying that if not properly handled, the action was capable of causing serious political strife across the state.
Reacting to the issue, Public Relations Officer of INEC in the state, Mr. Ameh Mathew said the body had no interest in any candidates or political parties in the state.
He said the INEC would continue to be neutral as it hadbeen throughout the last elections in the state.
The governor has taken a wise decision on resolving the members of the state house of assembly beside the governor has nothing lose but to allow peace reign in the state