The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked Nigeria’s National Peace Committee (NPC) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to directly hold President Muhammadu Buhari responsible for any break down of law and order in the country as Nigerians, according to the party, will never allow him to rig this Saturday’s elections.
PDP Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, announced to the peace panel and the international community that the re-election seeking President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have declared and commenced a war on them.
The party says President Buhari has unleashed the state security apparatus of the police, the military and the Directorate of State Services (DSS), who are now hounding, beating up, arresting, detaining and shooting PDP leaders in various states.
PDP said, ‘’federal controlled security officers have taken over the streets; they are now attacking and picking up our members, even in their homes, all in President Buhari’s bid to subjugate Nigerians and enforce his self-succession bid.
‘’In Osun State, all our key leaders have been arrested on flimsy charges. Our leaders are being harassed and detained in Rivers, Kano and other states.
‘’In Kogi State, our leaders, including former Governor Ibrahim Idris was manhandled, our state campaign spokesperson, Mr. Austin Okai, was abducted, while the National Publicity Secretary and Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign, Ologbondiyan, narrowly escaped abduction.
‘’All our leaders in Kogi are under siege. The whereabouts of Senator Dino Melaye, a senatorial candidate, is uncertain since the last siege on him by security agents. The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu has refused to dismantle the siege by Government House Police command in Banda.’’
While calling on the peace committee and the international community to note that President Buhari and the APC have breached all the agreements in the peace accord, Ologbondiyan said,
‘’for us in the PDP and indeed all Nigerians, we have now come to the breaking point where our members can no longer stomach the escalated onslaught of the Buhari Presidency and the APC. Nigeria belongs to all of us and we might have no option left in the present circumstance than to pull off our gloves.’’
Before this latest outcry from the opposition, some interested voters woke up to hear from the PDP that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was allegedly withholding sensitive election materials including collation (form EC8D) and result (form EC8E) sheets in states considered to be their strongholds.
Ologbondiyan, who blew the lid off the worrisome allegation said, ‘’intelligence at our disposal shows that certain compromised INEC officials are working with agents of the ruling APC to hold back the material so as to pave way for the allocation of fictitious results for President Buhari and APC National Assembly candidates in the affected states.
‘’For instance, in Abia State, no collation forms and result sheets have been received for the Senatorial elections, while no result sheets for all the elections have been received in Delta and various other states.
‘’In Kano State only 105 Senate result sheets have been received in Garko Local Government Area instead of 144. Rogo Local Government Area has received 106 Senate result sheets instead of 141. Danbatta has received 28 cartons of House of Representatives ballot papers instead of 29, while Tofa Local Government Area has received 18 cartons instead of 19. This scenario is playing out in many other states.’’
The obviously disturbed PDP is charging the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to immediately release the materials to their respective designated points and cautions that it will never allow anybody to use any means to rig it out in this election.
‘’Prof. Yakubu must note that this serious infraction is already heightening tension and would eventually lead to serious crisis in affected states ahead of the election, if nothing was done to stem the trend’’, PDP said.
Ologbondiyan said his party had earlier alerted that the INEC Chairman was allegedly succumbing to back-channel intimidation by the APC and the Buhari Presidency to accede to their rigging plot, which includes hoarding and in some cases, delay in the distribution of sensitive materials meant for PDP stronghold as well as using APC agents as electoral officers.
While cautioning the INEC Chairman not to allow the APC to use him to derail the electoral process, particularly after the disgraceful postponement of the February 16 elections, PDP added, ‘’Nigerians are alert. They are noting the trend and will spare no thoughts in standing against any attempt by INEC and the APC to rig this election.’’
