The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing it of colluding with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The party stated this in a letter signed by its National Chairman, Uche Secondus, which was presented to INEC during a protest staged by the party on Tuesday.
Some leaders of the party marched to the headquarters of INEC on Tuesday to protest the outcome of the presidential election.
According to a tweet by INEC, Mr Secondus led many of his party’s supporters to the commission’s office at Maitama around 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
In the letter by the party, they accused the APC led federal government and INEC of militarisation of polls in its strongholds and skewing the process in the favour of the ruling party.
Mr Secondus said the letter became imperative as the nation approached the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on March 9.
The letter which was titled ‘Cases of infractions and deliberate violations of the electoral law and guidelines,’ was made available to journalists.
It read, “We want to place on record and bring to your attention the very obvious and noticeable infractions and violations of the Electoral Law and the Regulations/Guidelines regulating the 2019 general elections which have very negative implications on the credibility, transparency and integrity of the entire electoral processes particularly the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“This is quite contrary to the provisions of paragraph 10(a) & (b) of the regulations and guidelines governing the 2019 General Elections and all the assurances you, Prof. Yakub Mahmood, frequently gave up to the last hours before the elections.
“The deliberate non-deployment of the Electronic Collation System (E-Collation) for the elections results from the units, through the ward centres to the Presidential Collation Centre in Abuja as provided for in the 2019 Electoral Regulations and Guidelines made by you, and as contained in your several official press statements is very suspect.
“This is more so when you have never bothered to explain to Nigerians the justification for this sudden official somersault on such a critical component of the electoral process especially with all the taxpayer’s money spent to install the facilities.
“The unconstitutional deployment of the armed forces especially soldiers and police for the illegitimate purposes to harassing, intimidating, suppressing of leaders of the PDP and suppression of voters in the PDP strongholds across the country which are very well known to you.
“The use of these same security agents by the government to harass and intimidate Resident Electoral Commissioners and certain INEC national commissioners for the sake of forcing them to declare votes for the APC’s candidates throughout the country has been officially or otherwise brought to your knowledge by the affected officers who even threatened to resign from their positions, yet you have decided to keep mute over it in a way portraying outright conspiracy and collusion of yourself and the commission with the APC government perpetrators.”
The party also said most of the collation centres in the country were cordoned off by officers and men of the armed forces who allegedly chased its accredited agents and/or candidates.
