The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has a plan to use fake workers for the upcoming governorship election on September 21. They think the APC will use these fake workers to mess with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
According to DAILY POST, the PDP’s state chairman, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, shared this news during a press briefing in Benin City on Friday.
Aziegbemi said that their party found out about APC’s plan. He claimed that APC wants to hire young people to act as fake INEC workers. These fake workers will then try to change the BVAS machine on election day to make it look like more people voted for APC.
“We want to tell INEC and the people of Edo about what APC is planning. They want to use fake INEC workers to change the BVAS machine and add more votes for themselves,” Aziegbemi said.
He also said that instead of putting real people as polling agents, APC added “emojis” to the INEC list. He mentioned that APC did not upload polling agents’ information in 3,037 polling units in 17 local government areas (LGAs). In contrast, PDP did it correctly in 4,378 polling units, but missed 141 units.
He stressed that INEC should not allow any political party that hasn’t uploaded their polling agents’ details correctly to make changes later. INEC should make parties face the consequences as stated in the electoral act, he added.
Furthermore, Aziegbemi asked INEC to publish the names, pictures, and postings of all technical support staff before the election to avoid APC from using fake staff. He also warned that they won’t allow anyone, except presiding officers, to go near the BVAS.
Refuting these claims, Prince Kassim Afegbua, from APC’s campaign council, said that PDP is accusing APC of what they themselves are planning to do. He said APC is closely watching their every move.
“We have already told the world that Governor Obaseki brought hackers and cloners to Edo to mess with the BVAS. Now that this isn’t working, they are trying another method. By Monday and Tuesday, they have plans to stage protests across the state to prevent the arrest of their people linked to crimes,” Afegbua claimed.
He added, “They are scared and hiding in the Edo state government house because they don’t want to be arrested. They are making these accusations to divert attention, but we’re keeping an eye on them. We know every detail of their plans.”
On his part, Timi Wariowei, INEC spokesman in Edo State, said the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, will lead a large meeting with stakeholders in Benin City. The meeting will be held on September 11, 2024, and the PDP state chairman can discuss these issues there.