Ahead of the July 16 Governorship election in Osun state, South-West Nigeria, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has alleged that some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC plan to ensure that some registered voters do not have the opportunity to cast their ballots.
Osun State PDP Caretaker Chairman, Akindele Adekunle alleges that said INEC officials in connivance with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC are presently engaged in cloning of permanent voter cards of registered voters ahead of the polls in order to disenfranchise them on election day.
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Adekunle who was speay at the party’s secretariat in Osogbo, on Saturday, claimed that APC is already coercing civil servants and other vulnerable segments of the society to surrender their permanent voter cards with the sole aim of taking down their details from the cards before returning same to them by using financial inducement
The party called on well meaning Nigerians, civil society and the international community to prevail on the Professor Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC to allow Nigerians exercise their franchise without any fraudulent interference by the leadership of the electoral body.
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Professor Abdulganiy Raji, declined comments on the issue, when contacted by AIT.live on the allegations against the Commission by the opposition PDP.
On his part, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ismail Omipidan while reacting to the allegations against the APC and INEC, said the PDP is merely covering its atrocities after the Police bursted two adhoc staff of INEC working for the PDP to sabotage the electoral process.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
