Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that agents of Governor Yahaya Bello and the All Progressives Congress (APC) threatened and forced INEC presiding officers, including NYSC members, to endorse prefilled results sheets in favour of the APC, in some local government areas in the governorship election held yesterday.
The party claimed that this happened openly in Okene and Okehi local government areas in Kogi Central Senatorial zone, where the governor and the APC were allegedly desperate to allocate fictitious votes and fabricate results in their favour.
In a press statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan it said the sheer magnitude of the manipulation, placed a responsibility on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to accept any results coming from the Okene and Okehi LGAs as they had already been compromised.
“Moreover, the PDP and other stakeholders in this election will never accept manipulated results coming from the two local government areas,” the party said.
The PDP also stated that APC manipulating the electoral process and caused deliberate delays in addition to swapping of election materials, all in a bid to cause confusion in the process.
“For instance, in Kabba/Bunu Okekoko Ward Unit 9, the baby units were reduced from two to one, a situation that led to disenfranchisement of voters, to reduce votes belonging to the PDP.
“Also the serial numbers on the ballot papers brought to the area were different from numbers on ballot papers released in Abuja for the area. Such swapping of ballot papers was a deliberate ploy to cause confusion and derail the electoral process in PDP strongholds,” the party said.