The All Progressives Congress on Friday descended heavily on the Niger State Commissioner of Police, Olusola Amore, for banning street rallies in the state.
The APC said the police does not have any right to ban it from holding rallies.
The state Chairman of the APC, Engineer Mohammed Umar, said in Minna when speaking with newsmen after a protest, that the party would not tolerate any hanky-panky from the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Peoples Democratic Party.
Umar said: “The Commissioner of Police has no legal right to ban street rallies in the state.
“And he cannot ban us from holding rallies, which the Nigerian constitution and the electoral law permits.”
Umar also stated that the party would not accept any shoddy job from the Independent National Electoral Commission during the general elections, adding that the buying of Permanent Voter Cards by the Peoples Democratic Party would not in anyway help the PDP in winning the election.
According to him: “We want to register our displeasure with the way PDP is going about in Niger State.
“We want to make it clear that we will not tolerate any hanky-panky from them.”
Umar also lamented that since the decentralization of the distribution of PVCs to ward level, most of the wards do not have any PVC to distribute to registered voters.
“As I speak to you, in most of the wards we have visited in Minna, there are no PVCs or INEC officials,” he said.
Umar however accused the PDP of going about trying to buy PVCs from some voters, adding that even when the culprits are caught, the police would release them without prosecuting them as the law demands.
He called on all their supporters not to sell their PVCs, while urging those who are yet to collect to ensure they collect theirs.
The APC Chieftain also warned INEC that rigging of election would not be allowed in Niger State.
He said: “We will not accept any shoddy job from INEC.
“We may have accepted the shoddy way the Niger East Senatorial election was conducted, but any of such shoddy job will not be accepted from us.”
The APC Publicity Secretary, Jonathan Vatsa, who also spoke, said the Amore cannot ban rallies.
Vatsa called on the police to be neutral, especially during the campaign period.
He said: “The Commissioner of Police issued a statement that street rallies are banned and we want to make it clear to the Commissioner of Police that APC is against thuggery and he cannot stop us from organizing rallies.
“The Nigeria constitution and the electoral law permits us to do rally.
“If the Police must stop rally in Minna, it should also stop rallies in other parts of the state.”
Vatsa also called on the Commissioner of Police to ensure that those caught buying and selling PVCs should be arrested and prosecuted.
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