PDP accuses INEC of creating illegal polling centres in Chad, Niger

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is plotting to rig the 2019 general election by creating illegal polling centers in Chad and Niger Republic.

In a statement on Thursday, Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesman of the party, described the plot as “inexcusably criminal”, saying it has exposed plans to corrupt the electoral system.

“President Buhari, INEC and all Nigerians know that there are no provisions for Diaspora voting under our system. By the extant laws guiding elections in Nigeria, it is very clear who is eligible to vote, as well as the centers statutorily designated for elections. There is no provision for any special arrangement whatsoever,” the statement read.

“It is therefore reprehensible that President Buhari, in his desperation to rig the elections, is now trying to hide under the guise of making special provision for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) outside the country, to illegally create rigging centers outside our country and import contrived figures into the election results.

“This clandestine arrangement further validates the alarm earlier raised by the PDP, in April this year, of INEC’s plot to secretly create 30,000 illegal polling centers in some remote areas, through which they plan to allocate millions of votes to President Buhari and the APC.”

The party accused the ruling party of not being committed to a peaceful and credible election, adding that the Buhari-led administration had shown that it cannot provide security for Nigerians to freely participate in the forthcoming elections.

“Nigerians can now see that the APC and its candidate are not committed to peaceful, credible, free and fair election. Having realized that there is no way he can win in a peaceful and credible election, Mr. President is now seeking means to enmesh the 2019 elections in constitutional crisis, public confusion and trigger an imminent violence that is capable of derailing our entire democratic process,” the statement read.

“Moreover, by seeking to open polling units outside the country, the Buhari administration has now agreed that it does not have full control of Nigerian territory and cannot provide security for Nigerians to freely participate in the elections.”

However, INEC has dismissed the allegations as untrue, saying there would be no diaspora voting in 2019.