The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of planning to move the Osun State election petition tribunal to the federal capital, Abuja.
The PDP in a statement by its caretaker chairman, Dr Akindele Adekunle, at the weekend, alleged that APC is scared of the expected ease of verification and consequent invalidation of its claim of over-voting if the tribunal sittings continue in Osogbo.
Adekunle said information received by the PDP showed that APC is making frantic efforts to ensure that the tribunal is moved from Osun to hinder the transparency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS).
He said, “we have credible reports that the APC is working to frustrate further sittings in Osun state to hamper the transparency of reviewing the data on the BVAS machines. As the machines are here in Osun state, verification will be easily handled without logistics constraints and exposure of the machines to tampering and physical dismemberment.
“To effect its manipulation plan, APC has concluded that further sittings in Osun be halted especially if the claim of over-voting is to be sustained. As the false claim cannot be sustained without tampering with the BVAS machine, the APC is perfecting a plan that will expose the machines to doctoring during movement and relocation.
“Our reports further showed that Governor Oyetola and his team are eyeing a likely scenario that will outrightly prevent the electoral commission from actually producing the electoral machines in court. This is to then change the proceedings from actual physical verification to mere technical consideration of the veracity of results print out”, the party explained,” Adekunle stated.
But the chairman of the APC in the state, Prince Gboyega Famodun, has described the allegation as “spurious, laughable, gibberish, balderdash, jabberwocky and only fit for the realm of a mere composition from an idle hand.”
In a statement by his media adviser, Kola Olabisi, Famodun said the allegation further confirms the fact that not everyone who passes through a school is qualified to be classified as being educated, saying “how on earth could someone who calls himself the state party caretaker chairman of a party be spreading such fallacies for reasons which could not be far from having an ulterior motive?
“The PDP’S allegation that the Osun APC is working towards the relocation of the governorship election tribunal to Abuja is a mere figment of the imagination of the rumour peddler.
‘It is a pity that the level of educational attainment of the embattled Osun State PDP caretaker state chairman does not educate him to know that INEC operates a central server in its national headquarters where the details of the governorship election are being safely kept.
“The PDP chairman should be educated further that there is no amount of atrocities perpetrated against any part of any state INEC office that is capable of distorting the details of the governorship election,” APC added.