Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Abia state, Dr. Alex Otti, said on Sunday, that he has uncovered what he described as desperate plot by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration to rig the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Abia state.
Otti made this known in a release signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of his Campaign Organization, Mr. Kazie Uko, and forwarded to DAILY POST on Sunday.
The APGA chieftain said he was aware of many undemocratic and cowardly acts of the Ikpeazu-led administration and her agents in ensuring that the democratic wishes of Abians were subverted during the upcoming governorship election in the state.
He cautioned the people of the state against falling prey to PDP tricks, saying he was alarmed by the recent attempts at early vote buying techniques.
According to the release, “As a responsible campaign organization featuring the most qualified and popular candidate, we owe it to Ndi Abia to alert them of this emerging scam and that if not immediately nipped in the bud may scuttle the desires of the majority of the electorates in the elections.
“Having since abandoned governance, the Ikpeazu government, in connivance with the PDP and other brigands, has presently channeled every energy and resources of the state in ensuring that they rig the 2019 governorship election, and has thus resorted to doing the following:
“Refusing to pay several months of salaries arrears of thousands of Civil Servants and pensioners, and using state funds to purchase the PVCs of hungry and vulnerable citizens. As we write, the government is using her agents in different ministries and Parastatals, to fraudulently and deceitfully collect PVC details of thousands of registered voters in exchange for sums said to range from N5,000.00 to N20,000.00 per person.
“The government and the PDP have set up some organized groups, allocated millions of naira to them and charged them with the responsibility of fraudulently obtaining PVC details of voters, especially those in the rural areas. To realize this evil agenda, the government printed fake employment forms, brought some fertilizers and palm seedlings, and other gifts which are given to their unsuspecting victims in exchange for their PVCs. We understand that PVCs so collected are intended to be used if incident forms are going to be used by INEC, otherwise, they would be withheld to ensure genuine voters, majority of whom would vote against PDP are disenfranchised.
“The Ikpeazu desperation took a dangerous dimension a few days ago when the scope of this fraud was widened as agents of PDP met in a hotel on Azikiwe Road, Aba where thousands of notebooks were distributed and the sum of N7,500.00 each, was handed over to the agents. They were charged to go around the state and compile names and details of potential voters and make payments to them in return. We are told that their plan is to preload card readers with the PVC details before election starts and thereby being able to falsify the results on election day.
“It must be noted that those, especially workers in different institutions, who were discerning enough to reject Ikpeazu’s offer for money in exchange for their PVCs, are presently being identified and victimized. Some staff are already expressing fear and frustration in the hands of the desperate government.
“The office of the wife of the Governor has allegedly also joined the vote buying racket as it is said to be opening accounts for all categories of people in commercial banks, where N10,000.00 each is deposited in a bid to lure them to vote for PDP in the forthcoming elections.”
Otti however called on the leadership of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at all levels and security agencies to beam their searchlights on the activities of the Okezie Ikpeazu’s government and PDP, so as to promptly arrest the brains behind acts which, according to him, endanger the nation’s democracy.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Abia state governor on Social Orientation, Mr. Ifeanyi Umere, in his reaction, urged the opposition party to stop hullucinating and leveling unfounded allegations against the Abia government.
He wondered how his party, the PDP, will engage in vote buying when it is on ground in Abia, challenging the APGA governorship candidate, Alex Otti to come forward with proofs.
Umere vowed that no amount of propaganda and lies by the oppositions will stop the re-election of the Governor come March 2019, saying the allegation by Otti was a sign that he has already accepted defeat ahead of the election.
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