By Emmanuel Oloniruha
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged security agencies to beef up security around the offices and facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against any attacks, ahead of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The party made the call in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba in Abuja on Monday.
Ologunagba said that PDP’s position was coming against the background of apprehensions in the public space of alleged plots to launch a coordinated attack on INEC offices and facilities in various parts of the country.
This according to him, was with the objective of destroying the Commission’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation system (BVAS) machines so as to cripple INEC’s ability to conduct the elections.
Ologunagba recalled that PDP had earlier alerted of series of designs by some frustrated persons to cause widespread crisis, truncate the elections, subvert Nigeria’s democracy and impose an undemocratic situation in the country
He said that credible information available to PDP indicated that the said interests were hell-bent at scuttling the elections to avoid a humiliating defeat, hence allegedly mobilising thugs to launch fresh attacks on INEC offices and its facilities where BVAS machines were located.
Some prominent APC leaders including certain APC governors, having failed in their designs to have the elections postponed and having also been resisted in their plot to use their orchestrated cash scarcity to destabilize the nation, are now allegedly plotting to cripple INEC’s ability to conduct the elections by destroying the BVAS machines.
These APC leaders and their apologists have evidently revealed themselves as clear and present threat not only to the electoral process but also to our corporate existence as a nation and must be resisted by all.
“The PDP, therefore, charges the security agencies to take all necessary steps to provide adequate protection for INEC facilities, equipment and personnel before, during and after the elections.
“We also call on President Muhammadu Buhari to put all measures in place for free, fair, transparent and credible elections in keeping with his assurances to Nigerians and the International Community.”
Ologunagba urged Nigerians to resist vicious plot to cause crisis, derail Nigeria democracy and force an unconstitutional situation of Interim National Government on the nation.
He said that Nigerians would never be deterred from their resolve to vote in the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar to rebuild Nigeria.(NAN)
