PDP raises fresh allegation against Jega

The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday raised fresh allegations aimed at discrediting the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, over the conduct of the forthcoming elections.

At a crowded press conference, in Abuja, the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, alleged that Jega had meetings with some unnamed leaders of the main opposition, the All Progressives Congress in Dubai.

He alleged that the meeting was aimed at making sure that those who were yet to get the Permanent Voter Cards were denied the opportunity of receiving them.

The former minister of aviation put the number of these set of voters at 23million.

Fani-Kayode added that the commission was scheming out voters in states and areas where he said supporters of the ruling party were.

Besides, he alleged that the PVCs were still at China and were yet to be imported to Nigeria.

He said, “Pieces of information at our disposal have shown that Jega has had meetings with APC stalwarts in Dubai and other cities in the world to perfect this wanton conspiracy against 23 million eligible voters.

“Besides, we have information that the PVCs that Nigerians are scrambling for are not in Nigeria and will not arrive before the elections.

“These PVCs are still in China and Jega has strategically delayed their arrival to suit his electioneering permutations.”

Asked to provide proof about the alleged Dubai meeting, Fani-Kayode refused.

The commission has however refused to react to the allegation, saying it doesn’t join issues with political parties.

Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Kayode Idowu, stated this in his reaction.

Idowu said, “INEC doesn’t join issues with political parties because the commission is a dispassionate umpire.”

Fani-Kayode however said that Jega must also show Nigerians proof that the Chinese company printing the PVCs had been paid in full by disclosing the total contract sum and the amount paid to date.

He also demanded that Jega should show proof of arrival or expected date of arrival of all PVCs for the elections and that he should equally tell Nigerians how he could have distributed 23 million PVCs within five days to election if there hadn’t been postponement.

He said it was wrong for the commission to have claimed that the election was shifted due to insecurity, adding that the electoral body as not fully ready for the election.

According to him, “The matter is that INEC has failed in its responsibility to produce and distribute PVCs to about 34 percent of registered voters who would require the cards to vote in the elections.

“This brings us to the issue of statistics of PVC distribution and collection, which we believe Jega, as a person, acting in concert with some forces of retrogression, is playing games with.

“We express our concerns today that Jega may have decided to aid the APC to rig the forthcoming elections through the manipulation of the production, distribution and collection of PVCs such that emerging trends have consistently shown calculated attempts to deprive parts of the country that would traditionally vote for President Jonathan of their PVCs.

“Whereas, the parts of the country that would traditionally vote for the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, are already armed with their PVCs.”

He insisted that the PVC collection statistics for states and geo-political zones before the postponement of the elections buttressed his allegation that Jega allegedly contrived what he described as “grand conspiratorial alliance with the APC to fraudulently secure victory in the elections.”

Fani-Kayode wondered why the PVC collection rates in the North-Central, South-South, South-West and South-East was much lower with the highest being 57 per cent, asking whether it was because of the fear that these geopolitical zones might be pro-Jonathan.

He also wanted to know why the North-West zone which includes Katsina (Buhari’s home state) have the highest collection rate of 80 per cent.