The All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign council for the Osun governorship election has urged the party’s members in the areas where the state’s election rerun will be held on Thursday, September 27, to ignore the rantings of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and turn out enmasse to vote for the ruling party.
In a statement released in Abuja by the chairman of its media committee, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the council said the threat by the PDP to challenge, in court, INEC’s declaration of last Saturday’s election as inconclusive is nothing but sheer bravado, especially as the opposition party is afraid of losing the rerun.
It said the PDP may also have contrived the court threat as a way of distracting the APC and its members ahead of the rerun, calling that distraction strategy dead on arrival.
“The PDP knows that the so-called court challenge which it has threatened to mount will not fly, especially because the highest court in the land has already pronounced on the issue of whether or not INEC has the powers to declare an election inconclusive
“The PDP is not unaware of the pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the case of James Abiodun Faleke Vs INEC and others, that INEC has the duty of conducting elections and that, besides the constitutional provisions, it is guided by the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and the Election Guidelines and Manual issued for its officials in accordance with the Act,” the council said.
It said that since the PDP had boasted that its candidate will win if the Osun governorship election is conducted over and over again, the party should stop being jittery and put its money where its mouth is by willingly participating in the rerun.
The council said, however, that if the PDP chooses to boycott Thursday’s rerun out of fear, the party’s right to do so will be respected.
“The PDP, after its failed mission to win Saturday’s election at all cost, is shopping for an illegal shortcut to victory by threatening a court action over an issue that has been settled. It’s a sheer waste of time.
“Let the PDP drop its pretension and get ready to be defeated in Thursday’s rerun. Alternatively, it can withdraw to save face,” the council said.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has described as irresponsible and baseless, the allegation that uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were being released ahead of the Osun state governorship rerun election.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, dismissed the allegation on Monday, September 24 in Abuja. Oyekanmi asked the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), which made the allegation, to provide the proof.