The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to alter results in areas where the PDP claimed it enjoyed a comfortable lead.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said this in a statement titled, ‘PDP Alerts INEC of Moves to Replace Results in Edo North…Laments Killings, Cautions Security Agencies,’ on Saturday.
He said the party wanted the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Department of State Services to know about the plots by agents of the All Progressives Congress to replace election results where the PDP was leading, particularly in Edo North.
Ologbondiyan said, “While we charge our members to remain vigilant and follow their results ‘bumper to bumper’ to all the collation centers, we, however, caution security agencies against being used to replace results that have already been declared at their respective polling units.
“Already, we are aware that results are being manufactured in Kogi State to be used as replacements for already declared results, particularly in Edo North.
“We draw the attention of INEC to such results being bandied by the APC, including the fake result claimed to have emanated from Etsako West, where a vote of 914 was allocated to the APC, as against the genuine declaration at the polling units.
“A cursory check on the results being circulated in the public space by the APC failed a litmus test of the identification numbers of INEC declaration of results.
“Whereas polling unit results are identified as Form EC8A, the results being paraded by the APC carry a fake identification number of Form EC60E.
“Our party expresses concerns that this sinister adventure of the APC is being encouraged by the slow pace of uploading already declared results in INEC’s virtual portal”
The PDP said it was also alarmed by reports that the development led to avoidable post-election violence, which had resulted in the reported killing of innocent Edo citizens, “who came out to perform their civic responsibilities as the police allegedly withdrew their men in certain collation centers.”
The statement added, “Our party, standing with the people, calls on the Inspector-General of Police to protect innocent Nigerians from this electoral defeat response by the APC.”
It urged the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, to ensure that the authentic results of the polls were made public. – Punch.
