The Accord Party in Osun State has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to rig Saturday’s August 15 governorship election in the state.
Its State Chairman, Pastor Victor Akande, said on a statement on Thursday, which claimed the plot was discussed during a closed-door meeting between a federal lawmaker and selected APC leaders in Osogbo on Wednesday night.
The party described the alleged disclosure as “the worst assault on democracy in recent history.”
It said the lawmaker, identified as a member of the House of Representatives from Kogi State, met with APC leaders and outlined strategies it said were targeted at weakening the Accord’s strongholds across Osun.
Citing “credible eyewitness accounts,” the Accord said the lawmaker presented a breakdown of the alleged plan town by town.
The party alleged that the Ijesa zone would be “totally blocked by all means” in favour of the APC through the use of force and the arrest of Accord leaders.
For Ile-Ife, the lawmaker was alleged to have said there would be “little violence” to suppress voter turnout, alongside “overwhelming electoral manipulation” to reduce any margin in favour of the Accord.
The statement further claimed that Ikire would also be “blocked for APC,” while the party would target 60 per cent of votes in Osogbo, the state capital.
In Ede zone, the Accord alleged that the plan was to “reduce voting outcome by 40 per cent.”
The party said the lawmaker expressed confidence that a combination of “sheer force, electoral manipulation and inducement” would deliver victory for
While condemning the alleged utterances, the Accord said such plans “ignore the fragility of our national democracy and outrightly deny basic tenets of democracy as prescribed by the constitution.”
The party said it had expected the lawmaker to focus on uniting what it described as the “badly fractured APC” and to address grievances raised by 76 APC leaders who, it claimed, had told the President that winning Osun would be difficult for the party.
As of press time, the Osun APC and the lawmaker mentioned had not issued a response to the allegations.
INEC and security agencies have reiterated their commitment to a free, fair and peaceful election on Saturday across the 30 local government areas of the state.
Efforts to get the reaction of the All Progressives Congress proved abortive at the time of filing this report.
