Kola Ologbodiyan

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government of sabotaging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the aim of engineering a staggered presidential election.

A statement issued on Sunday by the Director Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to have a staggered election which would afford him the opportunity to use security agencies to subvert the will of the people.

The party also alleged that some APC elements in INEC had allegedly hired a team of data hackers to corrupt the voters register with a view to causing mass confusion and voters’ suppression on the election day.

“We have been reliably informed that the same Amina Zakari and another high-ranking INEC commissioner played a pivotal role in assisting the APC and Buhari presidency in sabotaging the operations of INEC and scuttling the February 16 elections.

“These APC elements in INEC engineered actions that affected the distribution and delivery of sensitive INEC materials to designated locations, thereby frustrating the electoral process.

“Nigerians would have been shocked that many registered voters in possession of their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) would arrive at their polling centres on election day, only to discover to their amazement that their names have disappeared from the register in their units.

“Intelligence available to us further details how agents of the Buhari presidency infiltrated the distribution system and ensured that sensitive election materials do not arrive at the designated locations, with the view to stall elections in several states and pave way for a staggered election.

“This is in addition to deliberate swapping of sensitive election materials between different states and local governments to muddle up the process and stall election in affected areas. In some states like Edo, sensitive election materials did not arrive at their designated points on APC interruption.

“The PDP urges Nigerians to continue to be alert in resisting the APC and the Buhari Presidency in their plot to sabotage our elections,” the statement read.