The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday raised fresh allegations
aiming at discrediting the National Chairman of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, over the conduct of the elections.
At a crowded press conference in Abuja, the Director of Media and
Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi
Fani-Kayode, alleged that Jega had meetings with some unnamed leaders of the
main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
But the commission said it was not in its character to join issues with
political parties.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Kayode
Idowu, said this when contacted to react to the allegation.
Idowu said, “INEC doesn’t join issues with political parties, because
the commission is a dispassionate umpire.”
However, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, dismissed the allegation as utter nonsense and irritable.
Speaking in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on
Wednesday, Mohammed said, “I’m in Abuja with some of our leaders. Baba Bisi
Akande is here, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is here, former Governor Kayode Fayemi is
here. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is in Lagos.
“No leader of the APC is outside the country. So, tell me who is Jega
meeting? Is it members of our NEC? Not one of our leaders is outside the
country. This people are paranoid. We are preparing for our NEC meeting. We
have some of our governors here. The PDP is paranoid.”
But Fani-Kayode also alleged that the meeting was aimed at making sure
that those who had yet to get the Permanent Voter Cards were denied the
opportunity of receiving them.
The former Minister of Aviation put the number of those voters at 23
million.
Fani-Kayode added that the commission was scheming out voters in states
and areas where he said supporters of the ruling party were.
Besides, he alleged that the PVCs were still at China and had yet to be
imported to Nigeria.
He said, “Pieces of information at our disposal have shown that Jega has
had meetings with the APC stalwarts in Dubai and other cities in the world to
perfect this wanton conspiracy against 23 million eligible voters.
“Besides, we have information that the PVCs that Nigerians are
scrambling for are not in Nigeria and will not arrive before the elections.
“These PVCs are still in China and Jega has strategically delayed their
arrival to suit his electioneering permutations.”
Asked to provide proof about the alleged Dubai meeting, Fani-Kayode
refused.
Fani-Kayode however said that Jega must also show Nigerians proof that
the Chinese company printing the PVCs had been paid in full by disclosing the
total contract sum and the amount paid to date.
He also demanded that Jega should show proof of arrival or expected date
of arrival of all PVCs for the elections and that he should equally tell
Nigerians how he could have distributed 23 million PVCs within five days to
election if there hadn’t been postponement.
He said it was wrong for the commission to have claimed that the
election was shifted due to insecurity, adding that the electoral body was not
fully ready for the election.
“The matter is that INEC has failed in its responsibility to produce and
distribute PVCs to about 34 per cent of registered voters who would require the
cards to vote in the elections.
“This brings us to the issue of statistics of PVC distribution and
collection which we believe Jega, as a person acting in concert with some
forces of retrogression, is playing games with.
“We express our concerns today that Jega may have decided to aid the APC
to rig the forthcoming elections through the manipulation of the production,
distribution and collection of PVCs, such that emerging trends have
consistently shown calculated attempts to deprive parts of the country that
would traditionally vote for President Jonathan of their PVCs.”