APC, PDP trade allegations over Edo guber, Rivers rerun

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of recruiting members of All Progressive Congress (APC) as ad-hoc staff ahead of Edo governorship poll.

However, INEC has dismissed the allegation saying that PDP should present evidence of such recruitment to back their false claim, assuring that upon presentation of evidence prompt investigation would follow to bring the culprits to book.

Also APC and PDP are trading tackles over alleged INEC’s reversal of cancelled national and state legislative rerun polls’ result in Tai Council of Rivers State.While the PDP said the move by INEC’s National Commissioner, Amina Zakari, to release the purported Tai re-run election result was a deliberate and calculated attempt to throw the state into chaos, the APC said the electoral commission did the needful and did not favour it in ratifying the result.

APC candidate for Rivers South East Senatorial District in the legislative re-run election, Magnus Abe, said INEC righted the injustice meted to APC by the cancellation, saying the election in the council area was conducted, collated and returned by the returning officers to validate the results.

PDP had raised an alarm about the recruitment of ad hoc staff, Saturday, through a press statement by its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, alleging that there is a video evidence exposing INEC officials in Edo State of compromising the outcome of the gubernatorial election.“We have once again uncovered another plot by the Electoral umpire in Edo State to rig the Gubernatorial election in favour of the government in Power in the state. There are clear evidence available to us showing how INEC officials are recruiting APC members as ad-hoc staff to rig the election for the APC candidate in the governorship election in the State” Prince Adeyeye said.

PDP warned that it would not tolerate any act of sabotage and advised the electoral umpire to recruit neutral and credible Nigerians without partisan interest as ad-hoc staff to maintain their neutrality in the process.

“We will not accept anything short of free, fair and credible process leading to the Saturday 10 governorship poll in Edo State. We wish to assure INEC and the APC of our cooperation for a successful election, but will not accept an election that is already compromised before the actual poll.”