Military didn’t rig for us — PDP

Ekiti State  chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has dismissed allegation by All Progressives Congress, APC, that the Federal Government deployed the military to the state during the June 21 governorship election to assist it in rigging the election in favour of its candidate, Mr. Ayo Fayose.

The party equally decried a statement credited to the state chairman of APC, Chief Jide Awe that APC was used as a guinea pig by the PDP-led Federal Government to ensure victory for  Fayose in the election.

Awe was quoted by a national newspaper (not Chat212) as saying Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State won his re-election because the PDP was unable to manipulate the poll like it did in Ekiti.

PDP in a statement by  its Publicity Secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, described the statement as misleading and myopic.

According to PDP, “This is what we are saying. In Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, their man, lauded the presence of security agents during his election. He even went to thank President Goodluck Jonathan after he won saying the presence of military men dissuaded people from fomenting trouble. Let them come out to prove how security men helped the PDP in either Ekiti or Osun State. In Ekiti State, there was no reported case of violence on Election Day because security agents were around. We have it on good authority that APC leaders were saying that they could have disrupted the collation of results when they were getting feelers that they were losing in almost all polling units in Ekiti.”

On the 2015 general elections, Oluwawole said “Governor Fashola of Lagos had to take a policy somersault on fees in state institutions because they know that they are becoming unpopular on a daily basis. By now, we are sure that Nigerians, and even outsiders familiar with political developments in the country and who are not bought over by the propaganda machinery of the APC, would have seen the double speak and the double standards in the party.

“APC is only interested in destroying whatever does not favour it. How were they used as guinea pig in Ekiti? Let them explain to the whole world. The Ekiti June 21 election was adjudged credible, free and fair by local and international observers. It is only the  eyes of APC leaders that could not see the election the way others saw it. Also, their minds could not comprehend because they are heading for destruction. They should be told to keep their ‘gun powder’ to prove how they were cheated in the election for their wilderness journey at the tribunal. We know that they are only going to self-destruction.”