PDP: APC wants to influence results in Ebonyi, Imo to meet 25% mark

The presidential campaign council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is attempting to influence the election results in Ebonyi and Imo states to get 25 percent of votes cast.

On Saturday, Nigerians voted in the presidential and national assembly elections.

But voting in some polling units in the country was extended to Sunday due to logistic reasons.

Currently, the collation of results is taking place across the country.

Over the past 48 hours, major political parties — PDP, APC, and Labour Party (LP) –have traded words over the conduct of the elections.

Speaking on Monday at a press briefing, Dele Momodu, PDP campaign director of strategic communications, accused the APC of attempting to “shore up” votes from Lagos state.

“We remain the only political party that has secured the necessary 25 percent spread across 24 states in the country. No other political party has been able to cross this essential constitutional requirement,” Momodu said.

“As a matter of fact, we have it on credible grounds that our main opponent in this election, the All Progressives Congress, is currently mounting pressure in attempts to bribe their way to securing 25 percent performance in both Imo and Ebonyi states.

“It is on the merits of this intelligence that we are calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to apply necessary precautions before announcing procured results in the presidential election from these two states.

“Our presidential candidate had yesterday urged the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu to instruct collation officers to upload results from the polling units to the INEC server to avert those results from being compromised by governors of the ruling party who were shopping for numbers to make up for their shortfalls.

“As we speak, the APC has not been able to meet the 25 percent threshold and demand that INEC should not cave into the pressures and desperation of the APC to buy advantages for itself in this regard.

“Similarly, we have it on good grounds that the APC is currently making attempts to shore up votes from Lagos State to their advantage. From already collated results, the APC is not leading in Lagos and we have credible information that they are currently shopping for means of manufacturing humongous figures to their advantage in the state.

“Similarly, we urge the Independent National Electoral Commission to resist the pressure being mounted on it by the APC to compromise the Lagos central senatorial district election where the Peoples Democratic Party is in a clear lead.

“We further urge the electoral commission to put substantial surveillance on Lagos State. The APC is doing all within its means to cheat in Lagos.

“Our demand for INEC’s precaution is not limited to Lagos. It extends to other states in the Southwest and selected states in the north including Katsina, Yobe, and Borno among others.”