APC, PDP trade accusations over council poll

Rasaq Ibrahim, Ado-EkitiThe All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State yesterday exchanged verbal invectives over alleged rigging plots in tomorrows local government election.The opposition PDP alleged that there were plots by Governor Kayode Fayemi to subvert the election in favour of his party, the APC, in the 16 local governments and 177 wards.Countering the allegations, the ruling APC described the accusation as baseless, spurious and a cheap blackmail that holds no water, saying PDP was afraid of defeat.In a statement in Ado-Ekiti, the PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jackson Adebayo, said the plot to allegedly hijack the election was hatched at a meeting held at the Government House.He alleged that there were reports that some of the PDP candidates were being threatened after attempts by the government officials to buy them over failed.In a swift reaction, APC mocked the opposition PDP, saying it had foreseen its impending defeat in tomorrows poll and had in its usual characteristics, resorted to blackmail.APC claimed that the allegation was coming from a drowning party looking for something to cling to.Read Also:Buhari meets APC governorsAdebayo alleged that a meeting arranged with some PDP candidates at the home of Deputy Governor Bisi Egbeyemi was hurriedly put off when the leadership of APC discovered that it had become too late to persuade them not to participate in the election again.He added that the failure to stop the PDP candidates at all cost led to the meeting held at the Government House where a decision was reached to resort to ballot stuffing and hijacking of election materials across the state.PDP said there was no amount of intimidation or harassment that would change the determination of its members to win the 16 council chairmanship seats and 177 councillorship seats.We as a party, democratic culture resides with us, but we will not hesitate to meet fire with fire and mobilise for victory, hence we advise members of APC to drop the idea of thuggery in order not to turn the state into a war zoneWe are equally calling on the security agencies that will participate in the election to orientate their men not to allow themselves to be used as guards by the APC to carry out rigging in the elections because thats the boast of every member of APC now in the state.According to a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of APC, Elder Sam Oluwalana, PDP cannot win the election even if APC members do not participate in it, because the people will still reject them at the polls.Instead of them to embark on rigorous campaigns to redeem their dented and battered image, arising from their massive looting of the public treasury while in power, they are dishing out unfounded allegations that will take them nowhere.APC is aware that PDP members have been running helter-skelter immediately they knew that the ruling party is not handling the election with kid gloves, going by the massive campaigns throughout the state.
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