The All Progressives Congress and the Oodua Peoples Congress are at war over an alarm raised by the APC that ethnic militias and ex-militants are now wearing fake police and army uniforms so they can unleash mayhem on the opposition and disrupt voting, especially in the South West, without hindrance.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said OPC members were sighted at Owu -Elepe in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State on Friday morning changing into fake police and army uniforms, confirming the alarm earlier raised by the party that fake uniforms of security agencies were being sewn in the capital city of a South West state.
It also said ex-militants have been issued with fake military uniforms and deployed to some areas of Lagos, especially the Lekki-Ajah axis, to foment trouble.
The APC said the ex-militants in military uniforms are moving around in unmarked private vehicles and their assignments are being facilitated by security agencies.
The statement added: “In his national broadcast to the nation on Friday morning, President Jonathan said he is under oath to protect the lives of all Nigerians and the security of the country at all times. How can he do that when his supporters have engaged the services of ethnic militias, whom they have clothed in police and military uniforms, to engage in violence and election manipulations?
“If indeed the President means what he said, when he warned in his broadcast that ‘all necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that any persons who breach the peace or cause public disorder during or after the elections are speedily apprehended and summarily dealt with according to our laws’, then he should immediately call his supporters to order and direct the security agencies to arrest those going around in fake police and military uniforms.”
The party also alerted the nation to the alleged brazen actions to rig the elections in Rivers State, where all original results sheets have been removed and photocopied to pave the way for the Peoples Democratic Party to write fake results of the elections in the state.
Similar moves to manipulate the elections and engage in massive thumb printing, starting on Friday evening, with purchased Permanent Voter Cards, are also allegedly taking place not just in Rivers State but in the South East.
It said the APC agent at the Port Harcourt of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Hon. Emma Edeeyah, was arrested on Friday morning without cause.
The APC said: “These developments are worrisome and do not bode well for a free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections. We are therefore calling on local and international observers to pay a close attention to these desperate measures aimed at thwarting the will of the people.”
But OPC in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Hakeem Ologunro, said Mohammed was just up to one of his numerous lies.
The statement wa titled: “When will Lai stop disgracing himself?”
It reads in full: “We just got informed of another phase of lies from the chief propagandist of APC against OPC and we wonder when will Lai Muhammed stop disgracing himself?
“His latest lie is the media release issued today that OPC members and other militants were seen today wearing fake police and army uniforms so they can unleash mayhem on the opposition and disrupt voting, especially in the South-west, without hindrance.
“If this claim is to be believed why didn’t the APC Chief Propagandist come up with video or even pictures to confirm his claims?
“When will Lai Muhammed and his bunch of liars accept the fact that the people of South West have been liberated from their “MASS HYPNOTISM”?.
“It is funny that a party that can parade its presidential candidate granting an interview in Abuja as being interviewed in London will be shameless to rope OPC into their obvious failure in the coming polls.
“One would have expected Lai Muhammed and his bunch of democracy rapists will be busy with the logistics of how they will cover their heads in shame and seek forgiveness from Nigerians after a disgraceful outing is rather busy attempting to create tension and needless outcries.
“We have told our members to be peaceful and law abiding. We wash our hands off any attempt to disrupt the election and we are certain nothing will go wrong.
“It is only in the mind of evil plotters like Lai Muhammed that the only thing they see about the coming election is violence and bloodshed,when we joined other concerned Nigerians to stage a peaceful protest days back,they used their propaganda machinery to call us thugs,touts and other negative names,the moment we came public to show the video of the event,they shamefully kept quiet only for their claim today that our members and ex-militants are parading security uniforms to cause mayhem.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us,we are not part of those who have hijacked the democratic process to satisfy their selfish and greedy interest,and are yet to come to terms with the fact that Nigerians are wiser now.
“You can fool the people sometimes,but you can’t fool them all the time.”