Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has uncovered a devilish and brazen plot by the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the State, to deliberately compromise the March 18, 2023 Governorship and State House of Assembly election, by sabotaging the process of accreditation, with the intention to achieve over-voting in many polling units and the subsequent cancellation of elections in many parts of Delta State.
This was contained in a terse statement on Thursday by Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza, the Deputy Director, Media & Publicity, Delta PDP Campaign Council/State Publicity Secretary, Delta State PDP.
The statement which also claimed that the APC intends to instigate violence in certain areas of the state, reads;
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“Delta State Peoples Democratic Party PDP, has obtained solid information from impeccable sources, of a dangerous plot by the APC, to sabotage the March 18, 2023 Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Delta State, by colluding with willing INEC officials, to illegally perform the false accreditation of more persons than the legitimate number of voters captured in each polling unit via the BVAS machine, thus creating a deliberate situation of over-voting in such polling units.
“The second strategy of this devious plot, is to give selected voters three or more ballot papers for each position, in order to create a scenario of over-voting for a particular candidate/party, thereby compelling the Electoral Officer in charge to the results from such polling units and nullify the election completely, as a result of over-voting, as stipulated by the electoral laws.
“The targeted areas are predominantly located in Senatorial Zones where the APC already knows it will perform woefully during the elections, particularly in Aniocha/Oshimili, Ndokwa/Ukwuani, and Ika Federal Constituencies, in Delta North, as well as, Okpe Federal Constituency, in Delta Central, which is the electoral stronghold of our Governorship candidate, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.
“We also have it on good authority that the APC has also considered the diabolic option of violence, disruption of elections, and even the abduction of personnel, in areas where election officials courageously refuse to succumb to the offers of compromise and complicity, in the interest of the people.
“Most worrisome is the latest disturbing intelligence which has come to our knowledge, that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy Senate President and Gubernatorial Candidate of the APC in Delta State, and the State Chairman of the APC, Chief Omeni Sobotie held a classified meeting with the leadership of the IT Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Abuja.
“The purpose of this meeting, we learnt, was to solicit the help of the IT Department in altering uploads from BVAS of Delta State in the forthcoming gubernatorial election to favour the APC candidate.
“We are bringing this to the public domain and to the knowledge of the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu because we are not taking this information lightly. Given that INEC is severely buffeted on all sides as a result of the management of the Presidential elections, eternal vigilance has become our watchword for the coming elections and we advise same to be the watchword in INEC.
“The APC knows it can never win the Gubernatorial election in Delta State and it is in sync with their desperado nature to seek ways to subvert the expressed will of the people. We warn the APC that they will fail in their sinister plots as the eyes of all Deltans are trained on them.
“They must always remember the age-old saying of the Orogun people of the State that “you cannot steal in the marketplace and put your hands at your back” in the vain hope that no one will see. A word is enough for the wise.
“We are particularly calling on all party agents, not only to monitor the voting process keenly, but to equally be very alert and vigilant to this plot by the APC to smuggle people to vote, beyond the legitimate number of duly accredited voters per polling unit and to quickly raise alarm where such acts and discrepancies are discovered.
“We also urge voters to make sure they don’t vote multiple times for any candidate/party or position, by ensuring that they only collect ballot papers and vote once for each candidate/party of their choice for the displayed position on the ballot papers.
“We are also, by this Press Release, putting our security agencies on full Notice of the intentions of the APC in Delta State, which is hell-bent on ensuring that they secure victory at all costs, through this particular plot of over-voting and we urge them to immediately apprehend any INEC official found culpable in assisting the APC to accomplish this devilish plot.
“Deltans are urged to come out on March 18, 2023 and vote the UMBRELLA and PDP all-the-way, for the Sheriff Oborevwori/Monday Onyeme joint Governorship ticket and all the PDP House of Assembly Candidates.
“We further implore and enjoin all eligible Deltans who will turn out en-masse as voters for the election, to be peaceful and firm throughout the process and must be resolute in defence of their votes, no matter the intimidation by the enemies of democracy.”
