Akoko Edo: APC/PDP trade words over plan to disrupt election

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By Francis Onoiribholo

The Akoko Edo Local Government Area chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart are trading words over alleged plans to disrupt the Saturday election in the area by hired thugs.

While the local government chapter's campaign council of the APC  is raising the alarm over alleged plan by the  PDP to cause violence and distrupt election during the Saturday govetnorship election in the area, the PDP alleged that the APC is not just planning to disrupt the Saturday election but have consistently been attacking its members in any where they found them gathered for the past two weeks.

The APC campaign council however called on the security agencies to beamed their search light on the local government in order to foil the plan of the PDP to unleash violence  in the locality.

Mr Sunday Maiyaki, the Chairman of the Akoko Edo chapter of the APC campaign council while speaking at a press conference in Igarra, headquarters of local government alleged that incessant attack on their members by the PDP in the locality have been brought to the attention of the security agencies in the area.

"We already have it on good authority of their plans by the PDP to distrupt the election in Akoko Edo and we have made this known to all the security agencies.

"We are aware of their plans to moblise thugs from Okene in Kogi State to come and hijack ballot boxes in the following communities; Imoga, Lampese, Ekpe, Ekor, Okpe, Ugboshi-Afe, Ugboshi-Ele amongst others.

"We want to once again use this opportunity to call on security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to please take note of this listed communities to know who to be held responsible for any breach of peace and decorum during the conduct of the election come Sept 19," Maiyaki said.

Maiyaki also alleged that the immediate past speaker of the Edo assembly Mr Kabiru Adjoto and former transition chairman of the local government, Mr Peter Ologun masterminded the attack on them on Aug 28 during their campaign tour from Ekpe to Ososo community.

"We are using this medium to appeal to the appropriate authority, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Security Service and other security agencies to act fast and put this mem in check before they plung the entire local government into crisis," he said.

But a chieftain of the PDP in the local government area whose name was mentioned in plots Mr Peter Ologun while denying the allegation, said the APC is raising the alarm to divert attention.

According to him, that it is the APC that have been attacking our members any time we are holding our unit meetings and one particular case in point is the one that took place in Ekpe community during which many of our members were seriously injured.

"The APC was not on campaign tour that day, but some of their boys stormed the venue of our party meeting and started shooting at us and injured many of our members and the security agencies are all aware of all the attacks the APC have visited on us.

Ologun said that PDP is committed to free, fair and credible election, saying that the party had always and will continue to preach non violence before, during and after the election. End

 

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