INEC has surrendered its independence to APC, PDP alleges

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, of overtly playing the script of the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement signed by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party insisted that INEC, under Yakubu has become “overtly partisan, surrendered its independence to the APC and carries on as a compromised umpire with obnoxious impunity, thereby sending signals of being heavily bribed by the APC to alter results for its candidates.”

“The PDP has full intelligence of how INEC is acting on instructions from the Buhari Presidency and the APC in orchestrating unwholesome situations and declaring already concluded governorship elections in Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau as well as other states as inconclusive, immediately it becomes obvious that the PDP was set to win.

“This also informs the foisting of unexplainable stoppage and delays in the announcement of already collated results in other states where the PDP is clearly leading the race, from the results so far declared at the polling units.

“Our party has also been informed of how INEC is now seeking ways to use the situation to aid the APC to alter the results and announce APC candidates as winners in the elections clearly led by the PDP just as it did in the 2018 Osun State governorship election.

“In some of the states like Rivers, the PDP has information of plots by APC to leverage on the declaration by INEC to unleash more violence in the state and push for isolated election where they can bring in more security forces to concentrate on forcefully taking over the state.

“Already, in Rivers State, INEC is under heavy pressure from the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organization and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, to post out and replace the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) as well as the Administrative Secretary.

“This will be totally unacceptable, completely provocative and shall be firmly resisted by the people even if the totality of our nation’s security is deployed to Rivers State.

“This is more so as results of all the state assembly elections in Rivers state have been declared and winners had emerged.

“The PDP cautions Prof. Yakubu and his INEC to perish the thoughts of altering any figures for the APC and to immediately announce our winning results in these states and others where our candidates clearly won, going by the results already declared at the poling units, wards and local government collation. Anything short of this will attract the legitimate wrath of the people,” the statement read in part.