Edo Group Warns Against Rigging September Gubernatorial Polls, As PDP, APC Trade Words

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

A Civil Society Advocacy Group, Edo Democracy Movement, EDM, has warned that serious consequences will surely trail any attempt by  persons and/or entities to manipulate the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

This is even as the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, and the All Progressive Congress, APC, continued to trade allegations of plans to rig the polls.

In a statement issued on Saturday, August 31, 2024, Convener of EDM, Omoregbe Osayiuwa, noted that there is a high level of political awareness, so much so that people are ready to protect their votes no matter the situation.

The group, therefore,  cautioned the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, Security agencies, and other relevant election supervisory organs to be wary of some unscrupulous elements who might want to use them to scuttle the genuine wishes of Edo electorate.

The group, however, insisted that any attempt to undermine the electoral choice of the people, may spark a revolution that will commence in Edo, and resonate in other parts of the country.

“Any attempt by the APC to rig the forthcoming Edo governorship election will be met with unprecedented resistance, sparking a revolution that will reverberate across Nigeria beginning from Edo state

“We caution the Independent National Electoral Commission and Security agencies to remain impartial and resist any pressure from politicians to destabilize our State.

Edo is not one of those States that will be subjugated or manipulated for political gains. The high level of political awareness among the people of Edo will not allow for any compromise of the sanctity of their votes”, the EDM stated.

Tony Aziegbemi, the PDP Chairman in the State at the weekend raised the alarm over alleged plans by its main rival, APC, to compromise the integrity of the electoral process through the manipulation of the BVAS machine.

According to him, credible intelligence available to the party, suggests subtle arrangements to enlist the services of some pliable INEC officials to compromise the integrity of the Bimordal Voter Accreditation  System, BVAS.

The PDP Chairman  who spoke at a media briefing in Benin noted that so far, the APC has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that it  can not be trusted to allow a free and fair polls in the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial contest .

“We wish to draw the attention of INEC and Edolites to the sinister plan of the APC which has been uncovered by our intelligence unit.

“APC has perfected plans to use fake INEC staff posing as Technical Staff to tamper with the BVAS machine on the day of the election to beef up the number of accredited voters on the BVAS machine.

APC knowing that it cannot win the election has resorted to rigging plans which will terribly fail by the grace of Almighty God”, the PDP stated.

But the APC has insisted that the PDP’s  alarm is merely to divert attention from its well-oiled plans to undermine the  outcome of the election.

Kassim Afegbua, spokesperson for the APC campaign Council, said that the PDP, going by its outburst, is indirectly telling the world its evil plans for the election.

“The PDP has just told the public what it is planning to do. But the bad news is that we are monitoring them closely”  Afegbua noted.