An allegation of connivance to rig the polls has been levelled against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Police and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made the allegation yesterday in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehekhare.
He said the PDP had some credible information that there was an arrangement by the APC to thumbprint fake ballot papers today at Ibillo, in Akoko Edo Local Council area and take them to areas of its weakness.
The publicity secretary further said that there was another plot to plant fake permanent voters cards (PVC) on the PDP supporters and get them arrested.
“They are planning to destabilise the election at Uromi, Ovia and parts of Oredo in order to provoke inconclusive elections in their areas of weakness.
“We are also reliably informed that members of the APC have been granted remote access to the INEC servers and its e-collation platforms. We are informed that certain officials of the commission had granted the APC real time access to the platforms in furtherance of their plan,” he said.
According to the PDP, this ploy is a bid to manipulate or disrupt the results on the field at the polling stations where they may be losing the elections.
Nehekhare said: “We requested a meeting with senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force assigned to provide security during the elections, again, we were denied. Instead, our members have been harassed, intimidated and arrested on trumped up charges.”
However, the state police command and the INEC have in separate reactions, denied the allegation.
According to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Theodore Okafor, “If they believe that what they are alleging is true and can substantiate it, they should report to the police who know what to do. I am not aware of any meeting the police had held with the APC leaders.”
The INEC’s Assistant Director of Public Relations, Mrs. Priscilla Imoudu-Sule, also denied that it had granted the APC access to its servers and e-collation.
