The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), governorship candidate in yesterday’s governorship election in Kogi State, Idris Wada has accused the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) of manipulating the entire exercise to swing victory to the ruling party’s candidate, Abubakar Audu.
Speaking with Sunday Sun at Odu in Dekina Local Government Area where he voted, governor Idris who expressed satisfaction over the high turnout of voters, however, expressed displeasure with the performance of INEC which he noted was a big encumbrance to the election.
Wada said: “The level of manipulation was demeaning, but what made me really happy was the large turnout of people, particularly in Dekina Local Government Area.
“The people came out enthusiastically, but the card reader failed in many places and INEC wasn’t proactive enough to make the Incident Form available early enough, so that will lead to many people not being given an opportunity to exercise their civic rights and responsibilities.
“I am happy that our people have come out enthusiastically to support democracy and that is the pleasing aspect, and that is why government has a responsibility to conduct a credible process. Some of them left their villages early for accreditation, and after that they can’t go back home. So, they wait until they can vote and then go home. So you need to establish a smooth and expeditious process to enable them to go home.”
The Kogi governor who had to use the Incident Form to vote as a result of failure of the card reader to recognize his fingerprint alleged that INEC and certain leaders of the ruling party were bent on rigging the election for his main rival, Audu Abubakar. He however exonerated President Muhammadu Buhari over what he called the mind-boggling manipulation that trailed the exercise.
Wada said: “I don’t see federal connivance but I see manipulation by some leaders of a political party. So, I don’t think it is a direct federal government manipulation. It is a party that hasn’t sold its programme properly, that hasn’t won the hearts of the people, its leadership was actively involved in manipulation.
“There are allegations that are mind-boggling that I can’t say right here; we are gathering evidence involving top leaders of APC! It is unbelievable. We never sat down one day to strategize on how to manipulate the process. We campaigned throughout the length and breadth of the state.
“After I tried ten times, my thumb and two index fingers, none of the card readers worked and there were two machines. I tried both yet it didn’t work. I suspect some kind of conspiracy to deny all those people who came out an opportunity to vote,” Wada lamented. The Sun
