Two days before the August 9, 2014 governorship poll in Osun State, the All Progressives Congress, which is the ruling party in the state, is alleging that several atrocities are being perpetrated or finalised by the Peoples Democratic Party in its bid to win the election.
The party, in an unsigned statement, said a bizarre scenario was witnessed on Thursday morning when three cash-laden helicopters landed on the play field of the Government Technical College, Osogbo to the consternation of members of the public who witnessed the spectacle.
The choppers, owned by the Nigeria Police Force, allegedly landed at about10am under tight security, bearing with it cartons of cash for distribution to interested persons who obviously were aware of its coming in advance, the party said.
It said more than 100 people gathered around the choppers and were heard discussing in hushed tones that they were waiting to be given the money it brought.
This, the party said, drew the attention of more people who stood on the opposite side of the dual carriageway to behold what was going on.
It said speculations were rife that the Police helicopters were used to haul cash meant to prosecute Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
The police helicopters were said to be still parked on the field as at 6pm on Thursday, while some young ladies were seen guarding the choppers.
In a related development, the party also said it has it on good authority that some members of the National Youth Service Corps were given instructions by the Independent National Electoral Commission on how to perfect rigging in the election to favour the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
The APC in a statement signed by the Chairman and the Publicity Secretary of its Osun State chapter, Elder Adelowo Adebiyi and Kunle Oyatomi, said a meeting at Ayedaade Grammar School in Ikire had corps member that will serve in Ikire Federal Constituency tutored on how to handle the ballot papers to favour rigging.
The party stressed that corps members were instructed to fold all ballot papers vertically before they are handed over to eligible voters
The APC also added that it gathered on good authority that INEC ad hoc staff have also been instructed to, on the day of election, mount a barricade round their tables.
The statement revealed that the instruction that the operational tables of the INEC officials should be cordoned off and fenced from the people will afford people coming with cloned voters cards the opportunity to vote.
According to the APC: “We have been informed of the meeting that was conducted in Ayedaade Grammar school today on how youth corps members should fold ballot papers vertically before they give them to voters, and when they asked for the reason for that, they were told that it is because of the ink.
“This has confirmed that there is something wrong with the ballot paper they are using. Why will they be doing that? Why should you not allow the party agents to sit with INEC staff so that they can see what is going on there.
“PDP has perfected their strategy to rig in 1,195 units spreading across 155 wards, they have identified where they are going to do this with about 406,116 votes.
“Their plan is also to make sure that their is not going to be problems during accreditation and voting, it will be during sorting and counting that they will create crises so that the men of the Department of State Service who are in possession of the already thumb printed ballot papers will use the opportunity to seal the deal.”
The party also alleged that the PDP has finally found an ally in the Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Bamitale Omole, to announce at all cost Omisore as the winner of the election, with a promise of rewarding him with a cash prize of N1 billion.
The APC also pointed out that DSS men who are able to perfect their plans at units and ward level have been promised to be compensated adequately.
The party also at a press conference by its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, in Osogbo on Thursday said rigging plans had been perfected by the PDP and they were contained in two documents prepared by party’s Osun State chapter.
It said the documents are now in its possession.
The first is a ‘secret’ document allegedly marked “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” that contains a meticulous outline of plans to rig the election, polling unit by polling unit, using pre-programmed ballot papers already designed and thumb printed with vanishing ink in favor of PDP.
The second document, entitled: “Task Force: Operation (PDP) takeover of Osun,” allegedly listed the actions to be taken at most of the 30 Local Government Areas in the state, including thuggery, snatching of ballot boxes and instigation of violent clashes, the PDP members to coordinate the recommended actions and the APC members to be arrested to pave the way for such actions.
The party said the ‘secret’ document further contains the plan to deploy specified numbers of impression ballot papers and vanishing ink in 1,195 polling units across 155 wards in all Local Government Areas of Osun State, in addition to a plan to de-register 47,000 voters, whose Voters Identification Numbers have been illegally acquired so they won’t find their names on the voters register on election day.
It said the document also contains the number of pre-allotted votes for each local government to make up the number of 406,116, which the PDP has pre-allotted to itself even before the commencement of voting.
The APC gave the breakdown of the self-allotted figures, as contained in the document, as follows: Atakumosa East (10,000), Atakumosa West (10,000), Ayedaade (15,000), Ayedire (10,000), Boluwaduro (5,000), Boripe (10,000), Ede North (10,130), Ede South (10,000), Egbedore (10,000), Ejigbo (15,000), Ife Central (35,000), Ifedayo (7,000), Ife East (33,018), Ifelodun (15,000) and Ife North (20,000).
Others listed in the rigging document are: Ife South (20,000), Ila (10,000), Ilesa East (10,000), Ilesa West (10,340), Irepodun (10,007), Irewole (20,105), Isokan (10,000), Iwo (15,000), Obokun (10,203), Odo-Otin (10,107), Ola-Oluwa (5,070), Olorunda (15,000), Oriade (10,000), Orolu (7,936) and Osogbo (28,000).
The party said the elaborate and audacious plan is to be carried out in connivance with key INEC officials from its national headquarters in Abuja and those deployed from other states, with the staunch backing of all security agencies deployed for the election and particularly-mobilised personnel, former militants and masked thugs impersonating security officials under a combined team code named: “Election Task Force.”
It alleged that the team is being supervised by Musiliu Obanikoro, the Minister of State for Defence; Jelili Adesiyan, the Minister of Police Affairs; former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; and PDP chieftain Chris Uba.
The APC said the mandate of the task force includes the intimidation, harassment and arrest of APC party chieftains, agents and sympathizers who are uncompromising or refuse their offer of filthy lucre.
The APC said the second document, a part of which was written in longhand, contained even more damning evidence that the PDP has decided to employ rigging, thuggery and other acts of violence to ‘win’ Osun State at all cost on Saturday.
For example, the party said the document lists members of the ‘Omisore Youth Forum’ who must be supported with the deployment of a ‘Strike Force” to foment trouble on election day.
The members are Adedotun Adebowale (alias Marcel), Kingsley Awosiyan, Muyiwa Odikunrin, Wale Ojo, Kola Oladipupo and Kako Banji.
The PDP members to be provided with ‘Strike Force’ to enable them disrupt voting, stuff ballot boxes or snatch ballot papers were listed as Halif A. Adeniran from Isokan War 10; Blessing Ikeaba (Ilesa West); Sunday Akanfe Atidade (Ede South, Kuge Ward 2); Shaibu Oyedokun (Ede South, Ward 10 and 11); Bode Falade (Ejigbo Ward 2); Raji Kayode (Ejigbo Ward 5) and Lasisi Gambia (Iwo, Oke Adan Ward 2).
Also, APC members to be arrested include Moshood Abdulahi, Akorede Lawal and Basiru Awobode (Isokan Ward 3); Femi Fasoro, Lanre Abu, Taiye Alapa, Seyi Elese and Taye Johnson (Ilesa West); Dele Nafui (Ayedire); Peter Babalola (Irewole) as well as Ramah Ajiboye, Johnson Ojo, Adedeji Soji and Alimi Kajogbola (Ede South).
The APC said actions to be taken to swing the election in favour of the PDP were also listed in the various Local Government Areas, including Ife Central (stuffing of ballot boxes, thuggery and physical clashes); Atakumosa East (Multiple voting, thuggery and ballot stuffing); Ife North (Electoral Violence); Ayedaade (Electoral violence and rigging); Egbedore (Snatching of ballot boxes and ballot papers) and Ede South (Snatching of ballot boxes).
In the LGAs, the thugs in charge of the designated evil assignment and the APC members to be arrested were also listed.
Meanwhile, the party has said it is not true that the military command is unaware of the plan to use soldiers to rig the Osun State election as 38 army officers were dispatched to the state on Wednesday and were part of the team that disrupted the rally that was to be held in Osogbo by the Nigeria Labour Congress in support of its candidate and incumbent Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
Also, it alleged that Uba had been given 50 soldiers from Enugu State.
The party alleged that he is to lead them to Osun State for one mission and one mission only: Brutalize, intimidate or kill any APC supporter who wants to prevent PDP’s rigging.
The party said: “All these point to the fact that PDP’s devilish plans to destroy our nascent democracy would stop at nothing to achieve its aim. We hereby put all stakeholders on red alert. We call on Prof. Attahiru Jega to ensure that his name does not go down in infamy as some others have.
“We also call on the new IGP and other security agents to show to Nigerians that they are truly professional men and women of honour. We appeal to all Nigerians and particularly the Osun electorates to be extra vigilant and ensure that their will is not subverted by this on-rushing brigade of evil,” the party said, vowing to put all machinery in place to safeguard the mandate of its teeming supporters and resist all forms of intimidation or devilish manipulation of the voting process.”
The APC said it is confident that, in the end, millions of soldiers, police and other security agents are not enough to take on the people and crush their will, much as they will try to.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
