TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun State has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of massive vote-buying in the seven polling units where the supplementary election will take place on Thursday.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Tuesday at the party’s secretariat, the Chairman of the Party, Hon. Soji Adagunodo accused the APC of offering voters money ranging from N50, 000 to N100, 000 across the seven polling units.
According to him, “APC has gone to seven polling units on massive vote-buying, offering money ranging from N50, 000 to N100, 000 per card. Also, INEC is now selling uncollected PVCs to APC at the rate of N3, 000 per one which will give them room to rig the election.”
The PDP chairman asked Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the total numbers of Permanent Voters’ Cards collected in all the seven units where the supplementary election will take place on Thursday.
Adagunodo also alleged that the APC is presently cloning PVCs at the Government House, Annex, Oke-Fia, in order to rig election at the polling units where the rerun will take place. He further lamented the attack on some of his members, including a party chieftain, Alhaji Fatai Oyedele known as Diekola and his aides on Monday by hoodlums suspected to be working for APC.
“Just to ensure that we don’t win the supplementary election slated for Thursday, APC government has connived with the security operatives to launch attack on some of the party’s members. They attacked Alhaji Asafa, Idowu Agbaje and some other prominent members of the party in their homes, at the instance of security operatives this morning just to intimidate our supporters but nothing will stop our victory on Thursday,” Adagunodo said.
But the APC has denied these allegations. The ruling party also alleged that the Adeleke’s family “is boasting that it will spend the last Kobo of the family’s fortune to win the rerun election on Thursday.”
This was made known by Kunle Oyatomi, the Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of Osun APC.
He said “They (Adeleke’s family) know that the PDP candidate, Sen Ademola Adeleke can’t win on the popular votes. First, he is the least educated and qualified candidate Osun has ever raised in its history of political contest.
“The fraud that brought him to this lever (manipulation of card readers and purchase of PVC of ill-informed voters) that we are now discussing him as a potential governor, marks us as essentially an illiterate and backward democracy.
“Such a person should not have qualified to be taken as ‘O’YES Cadet. The PDP and Adeleke family would be disappointed on Thursday. That vote can’t be bought, and would not be bought. Even if, as we hear, SDP’s Iyiola Omisore colludes with the PDP, it will come to naught.
“Healthy dogs from good homes will not go back to their vomit. Only wretched and strayed dogs go back to their vomit. Those who go back to their vomit are the wretched of this world – intellectually and morally.
“The PDP insists on going to court and contesting the rerun election at the same time. That is an evidence of desperation. If they have confidence they could win, they have no business to be in court at this stage. “The people of Osun will decide on Thursday in closely monitored and protected votes where the likes of moneybags and fraudsters will be neutralized’, the APC concluded.
