PDP Has Bribed INEC to Rig Kaduna Elections – APC

Few days to the conduct of the governorship elections across the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State has accused the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) of bribing officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 23 Local Government Areas of the state in a bid to manipulate Saturday’s Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in its favour.

Speaking to journalists in the state capital, the Chairman of the APC National Progressives Network, Retired Air Vice Marshal Ali El-Rufai, said they are aware of a secret meeting held between the PDP and INEC officials aimed at carrying out the nefarious act.

He alleged that the PDP during the meeting promised the INEC officials mouth-watering offers to rig the elections in favour of the ruling party.

According to him, apart from the huge money offered to the electoral officials, the ruling party, also promised them a house each at the Millennium City, in the state capital.

The offer, he said, would be fulfilled upon each of the officials delivering their areas to the ruling party at the Saturday’s election.

The retired military officer, who is also an elder brother of the APC governorship candidate in the state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, added that the ruling party, also planned electronic hacking of the card readers in APC strongholds, and also alleges that the PDP had equally planned to hire thugs and arm them with dangerous weapons to violently attack polling units where APC is popular.

He expressed fear that such act portends danger to the polity and therefore calls on the Federal Government and the International Community to caution the governor, as Chief Security Officer of the state, against acts capable of disrupting the relative peace in the state.

But the PDP Chairman in the state, Mr Abubakar Haruna has refuted the allegation, describing it as baseless and false.
Instead, the PDP Chairman says it is the APC that is attempting to manipulate the forthcoming elections, having succeeded its rigging techniques during the March 28 election.

He also accused the APC of recruiting thugs to be used to disrupt the election, having seen that there is no way it can win the governorship and House of Assembly elections on Saturday.

On his part, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kaduna state, Mr Hussain Mahuta also denied knowledge of any meeting between the Electoral officers and the PDP aimed at rigging the election for the ruling party.

He however, says the commission has been busy on how to ensure a free and fair election on Saturday and how to improve on the successes it recorded on the March 28 presidential election.

The REC also told newsmen that all sensitive and non-sensitive materials have been distributed to the 23 local government areas of the state as part of efforts to achieve a hitch free poll.