The All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over alleged attempt to rig the 2015 general elections in favour of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The Kaduna State chapter of the party in a petition to the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, stated that some of the electoral commissioner, posted to Southern Kaduna were “shamelessly negotiating for financial inducement before they agree to go round for the (Permanent Voters Card, PVC) exercise.
”The petition signed by the state Chairman of the APC, Mr. Bala Barnabas Bantex, said the distribution of the voters cards had failed, adding that it “is either INEC is not prepared for the exercise or it has plans to deliberately exclude Kaduna State by depriving the people of their civic responsibilities.
“The leadership of the party in the state has gone round the entire state after the commencement of the exercise and observed that the PVC has recorded little success in that so many people were unable to receive theirs, and the explanation given by officials is that they have not received supplies…
“The continuous registration in most of the local governments has not commenced, where it has commenced it is only done at ward collating centres using one machine contrary to the guide line for conducting it at every polling unit.
“In Igabi Local Government Area with over 400,000 registered voters, the exercise is only carried out in seven centres; in Zaria Local Government where the exercise is yet to commence, INEC is planning to conduct it at its local government office only…
“If the PVC exercise is not carried out in accordance with the guideline, we are sorry to say that you are only inviting rancour and probably not prepared to conduct the general elections in Kaduna State.
In other words, we suspect that you are only following the dictates of the ruling PDP at the expense of the popular majority,” Bantex added.