The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Thursday, March 22, 2018, said it has uncovered an ongoing secret exercise where eligible Abia electorates are being deceived to present their permanent voter cards’ serial numbers so as to be offered employment opportunities.
The party described the exercise as fraud being carried out secretly by some political elements to rig the 2019 elections in the state.
Benedict Godson, the publicity secretary of the APC in the state, disclosed this at a press conference in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, where he advised the public against disclosing the serial numbers of their Permanent Voter Card, alleging that, “It is part of the evil machination by enemies of democracy to hijack electoral process in Abia come 2019.”
“From our investigation, that is going on here in Abia State, taking people’s PVC in the name of giving employment to them while they are copying the PVC serial numbers to rig 2019 election in Abia. It is wrong. We condemn it in totality.”
Godson also condemned the destruction and removal of billboards and posters of opposition parties in the state, warning perpetrators to desist from the act.
“We are in democracy, not autocracy. We have freedom of association, expression. Not because we are in one party or the other. You can imagine a situation where billboards and posters of opposition parties in the state are being destroyed and burnt down.
“That is undemocratic. I want to use this opportunity to warn whoever or which of the political party in the state that is doing this to desist from it,” he said.
Reacting, Ugochukwu Emezue, the Special Adviser to the Abia State Governor on Media, described the allegation by APC as untrue, saying that the main opposition party in the state was only seeking attention.
He said, “It is not true as far as PDP-led government in the state is concerned. They are making baseless allegations. And I know that they are seeking attention.
You know PDP is the ruling party in Abia State. So, anybody that wants to create relevance around himself, all he needs to do is pour allegation.
“We are not distracted by such allegation. We are focused on delivering democracy dividends to the people of Abia State, not responding to baseless allegations,” he added.
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