The Peoples Democratic Party has raised the alarm over what it described as the discovery of an orchestrated plot by the ruling All Progressives Congress, to instigate violence in order to derail the 2023 General Elections.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, raised the alarm at a media briefing, in Abuja, on Wednesday.
He said, “We have called you today to through you alert Nigerians and the International Community of plots by enemies of democracy to frustrate and ultimately disrupt the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
“We alert Nigerians that in compliance with the directive by the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to his Party members to deploy violence and snatch power in the 2023 general elections, the APC having realized that it has been rejected, has commenced its violent attacks to frustrate the conduct of the elections.
“Nigerians can recall how the deflated and desperate Asiwaju Tinubu, in a closed-door meeting in London earlier this month, declared to his members that ‘political power is not going to be served in a restaurant, it is not served a la carte.’
“It is what we are doing; It is being determined; you do it at all cost; fight for it, grab it, snatch it and run with it.”
Ologunagba further said, “In response to this directive, APC leaders and members have now activated plots to derail the electoral process through orchestrated violent attacks in various States of the country aimed to trigger a nationwide security emergency situation, instill fear and make it appear in conducive to conduct elections in the country.
“Part of the plot is the current attacks on the facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in various parts of the country as witnessed in Ogun, Osun and Imo States where sections critical to the conduct of elections particularly those connected to the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were targeted and destroyed.“
The party further said intelligence reports at its disposal indicate that there were plans by the APC to orchestrate attacks in other States particularly: “Kogi and Delta; some States of the South East as well as parts of the North with the view to subverting the electoral process in as many States as possible.“
The same Intelligence report it noted revealed that the attack on INEC facilities is designed to prevent newly registered voters from collecting their PVCs; destroy the PVC’s so that they will not be available for collection in INEC offices, and thirdly, destroy INEC equipment and cripple its capacity to conduct elections.
