The gubernatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress in Ogun State, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, has raised the alarm over alleged plans by some political parties to rig the 2019 governorship election in the state and declare the results inconclusive .
Isiaka made this known at his campaign office in Abeokuta, the state capital, alleging that the parties were planning to manipulate the election results and figure in the forthcoming governorship election .
The former General Manager of Gateway Holdings said that he had received information in the last few weeks about the alleged plot by some major opposition parties to deliberately compromise the election by rigging at different polling booths across the state.
He listed part of the alleged plans to include manipulation and rigging of the March 2 governorship election in the state by unleashing thugs to perpetrate violence at many polling booths in order to compromise the collation of election results to a close figure and declare the results inconclusive just as it happened in Osun State.
The ADC gubernatorial candidate further alleged that the parties had planned to make the election results inconclusive and force a rerun in a premeditated polling booths within a particular senatorial district where they hope to manipulate and rig the election results.
He said, “At this juncture, I wish to — and on behalf of our party — raise the alarm about the clandestine and well-orchestrated plan by known opposition political parties – to manipulate the March 2, 2019 gubernatorial election.
“In the last few weeks, we have been inundated with the unmistakable information and security reports about the grand plot by these elements to deliberately compromise that election. They have hatched four different rigging plans — one of which we shall highlight here while the other three shall be withheld for exclusive counter action.
“Their first plan is to unleash thugs to precipitate violence in many polling booths and compromise the collation of election results up to close figures and push it to the point of having overall results declared as in conclusive( in the first run scenario) and then force a rerun in the premeditated polling booths within a particular senatorial district (name withheld) where they then hope to cement the plot by outright intimidation and harassment of our party members or sympathetic electorates. The recent controversial Osun state governorship election comes to memory.”
Isiaka explained that the full details of the alleged plot to rig the election would not be mentioned for security reasons. He however called on the new Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Raji, and his team, not to be part of the alleged plot by those he described as “antidemocratic elements”, noting that the state INEC must make every vote count.
” We also use this medium to call on the newly-posted Resident Electoral Commissioner and his team not to lend themselves to the sinister plot of these anti-democratic elements. They must make every vote count and resist the temptation and inducement of the current establishment, ” Isiaka said .
