The opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, has accused the Nigerian government of planning to deposit a large sum of money into the bank account of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, Attahiru Jega, in order to frame one of its leaders, Bola Tinubu.
The Spokesperson of the APC, Lai
Mohammed, who addressed a press
conference Wednesday in Lagos, made the claim.
APC said the goal of the plot was to use that as a reason to sack Mr. Jega so that he will not preside over the rescheduledbelections slated for March 28 and April 11.
“There is a plot to transfer a humongous amount of money into the bank account of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru
Jega, and then claim that the money came from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC in order to justify the ongoing plan to sack Prof. Jega so he won’t organize the elections,” he said.
He also said that beyond Mr. Jega, there are plans to credit the bank accounts of some key national institutions in the country with huge amounts of money purportedly from the APC, ostensibly to compromise those institutions.
Mr. Mohammed added that despite
repeated claims to the contrary, the
government is truly working hard to
truncate the conduct of the elections.
To this end, the APC spokesperson said
the government plans to use some
political parties that he said, are satellites of the ruling PDP, to push for thebpostponement of the elections again.
“The plot is to get the parties to address a press conference to say the elections should not hold in the North-east until September 2015 because of the ongoing
counter-insurgency battle there.
“The intention is to make sure Jega’s
tenure expires before the polls, so that they can appoint a malleable card- carrying member of the PDP as INEC Chair to conduct the polls,” he said.
He also said there is a plan to use the
security agencies to intimidate key
opposition leaders as well as the Nigerian Communications Commission and
telecommunications service providers to disrupt voice and data transmission, especially in APC strongholds, on Election Day.
He said top on the list of the security
agencies to be used against the opposition is the State Security Service, SSS, which will be used to compel all Resident Electoral Commissioners in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory -Abuja to hand over the names and telephone numbers of all INEC’s regular and ad hoc staff who will conduct the elections, as part of the Jonathan Administration’s rigging plans.
“It is no longer news that a signal has
been sent to all state commands of the DSS (SSS) to get the list of all INEC Returning Officers and Adhoc Staff before March 10th.
“There is also the ongoing illegal
recruitment of over 500 new cadets into one of the country’s security outfits, 50 per cent of whom are from the home state of the outfit’s top brass, in violation of the provisions of the Constitution, especially as the recruitment does not reflect the Federal Character,” he said.
Mr. Mohammed said nocturnal meetings are being held between various heads of national security agencies and the leadership of the PDP to undermine the
coming elections; adding that the
Presidency has retained the services of two Israelis and a Belgian who are
currently holed up in the Aso Rock Villa to hack and corrupt INEC computers on election day, with the trio having already been paid 25 percent of their contract fees upfront.
Another accusation from the APC is that there is an ongoing effort to compromise the card reader, which Mr. Mohammed said, the Jonathan administration sees as inimical to its rigging plans.
“Huge funds are being provided for
retired and serving security personnel to buy up PVCs, with the hope that they canbbe used once the card reader is compromised,” he said.
He recalled a case in court that sought to declare the use of the card readers in the forthcoming elections unconstitutional.
“In the days leading up to the elections, the Jonathan Administration is planning
to give the opposition the Ekiti treatment by massively arresting key opposition leaders, with a view to destabilizing their ranks, putting them away and paving the way for a free rein of their rigging agents.
“Towards this end, thousands of signed blank detention orders have been procured.
“As part of the plan to implicate our
leaders, illegal substances may be put intobtheir checked-in luggage during local and international flights. That is why we arebcalling on our leaders to travel only with their carry-on baggage,” Mr. Mohammed said.
He also said the detailed plans by the
President Goodluck Jonathan
administration and the PDP are part of the massive intelligence the APC are receiving daily from “patriotic” Nigerians, within and outside the government, who, he said, are eager to see the conduct of a free, fair, credible and violence-free elections that will catapult Nigeria to the league of truly democratic nations.
“We have decided to share the
information we are receiving with
Nigerians because we believe that no
power is strong enough to stop a people who are determined to effect change in the way and manner they are being governed, and that the ultimate power resides in the people.
“We have no doubt that the information will fortify the local and international observers who are coming for the elections, in addition to enhancing the vigilance of the citizenry before, during and after the polls,” he said.
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