Any attempt to manipulate rerun elections ’ll be resisted – PDP

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), says alleged plans of violence and manipulations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 23 rerun elections will be resisted by the people and summarily come to naught.

PDP national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, who stated this in a statement on Sunday, recalled that even the recent US States Department’s Bureau reports show that state apparatus of power was used for intimidation and electoral violence to favour the ruling government.

“The PDP is however undeterred in our imminent victory in the March 23 supplementary elections.

“In Benue, it is clear that the people have rejected the APC as clearly demonstrated even in the Presidential election. Benue state has always been home to the PDP. It is incontestable that our party has the largest genuine followership in all the units, wards and Local Government areas of the state and as such does not need any underhand measure to secure victory in any election in the state. Our winning lead of 81, 000 votes were validly delivered at the polling units and that reality will humiliate the APC as it cannot be subverted.

“Similarly, Rivers state is an impregnable home to the PDP since 1999. The results of all the elections held in Rivers, including the state House of Assembly, showed that the PDP is in control of the state. Moreover, in Rivers, the APC is a vicious interloper, which has been perpetuating violence and killings as a means to subvert and truncate the electoral process since it has no candidate in the election.

“In Kano, the people of the state are known to be incorruptible and had always detested leaders who are corrupt and incompetent. They have always elected governors that are acceptable to the ordinary people. The corruption and incompetence of the Ganduje administration is therefore distasteful to the people and that is why they have collectively rejected the APC and rally with the PDP. All the shenanigans by the APC and compromised INEC officials in Kano will therefore be unachievable.

“In Bauchi, the PDP has already been elected and this reality cannot be altered by the APC. INEC had already established that the APC compromised its official to declare Tafawa Balewa LGA as inconclusive and had restored the votes that were stolen by the APC. It   is imperative for APC to accept the fact that its bunch of broom has become famished.

“In Sokoto, the people have given us the mandate. The constitution provides for simple majority of votes. The declared results show that our candidate clearly won and that is why our candidate has been mandated to go to the court to seek interpretation of the section of the constitution that deals with the declaration of results.

“In Adamawa state, the APC is merely hallucinating and seeking ways to subvert the process. Its despicable resort to using a person who did not participate in the election to seek to use the courts to ambush the election is disgraceful,” the statement read.