It is not true – INEC
By Agboola Bayo
Ibadan
The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday raised alarm of an alleged registration of fake voters in Oyo state by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) data capturing machines (DCMs).
But INEC, in a swift reaction, described the allegation as “untrue and mere wiping up of undue political sentiment to gain people’s sympathy” as the nation approaches election period.
The APC, in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Oyo state Director of Publicity and Strategy, Comrade Olawale Sadare, alleged an “underhand deal” between INEC and some unnamed influential leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state with some members of the PDP in the state to gain possession of some INEC data capturing machines with which they carried out illegal registration of fake voters with a view to rigging the 2015 general elections in their favour.
The party alleged further that it had “credible information” about how some top officials of the PDP in Abuja facilitated the deal which made INEC to release some of the machines to certain individuals from Oyo state who are believed to be working underground to perfect the rigging plans of the ruling party ahead of the 2015 general elections.
“We felt obliged to expose the latest shady deal between the PDP and INEC as it concerns the possession of the data capturing machines belonging to the electoral body by some influential members of the ruling party in the state. We have it on good authority that a clique of PDP elements, which enjoys the backing of the Presidency, has successfully facilitated the release of a good number of DCMs to some power-mongers in Oyo state who have handed them to their agents who now carry out illegal registration of fake voters in some parts of the state,” it said.
The party added: “For the avoidance of doubt, we have details of how a political office holder from Ogbomoso, who is very close to the Villa, requested from INEC to be given about 20 DCMs and eventually got five which are now being put into illegal use at some hidden locations in the ancient city.
“In addition to this, some PDP agents were noticed to be going round in some parts of Ibadan north-east, Egbeda, Ona-Ara, Oluyole, among other local government areas, to recruit vulnerable individuals whose data they capture in some locations using INEC machines”.
The party vowed that there would be no going back in its determination to liberate the masses from 16 years of bad governance as well as to ensure that the people “actualise the desirous change which they seriously want in 2015.”
Speaking with Blueprint on the allegation, INEC spokesman in Oyo state, Alhaji Ayodele Folami, said the allegation “is untrue and just meant to whip up political sentiment”.
Folami stressed that rather than raising false alarm, APC ought to have reported such to the security agencies if they were sure of the allegation.
“They should have reported to the police or get across to other law enforcement agencies if they observe such a thing,” he said.
According to him, as at present, all the INEC DCMs in Oyo state are at the commission’s headquarters in Ibadan and none of the machines is missing, saying, “Let them inform the security agencies and get the right thing done.”