President Goodluck Jonathan: said to be in Lagos to supervise election rigging

The All Progressives Congress has offered some elaboration on its accusations against President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party that they were planning to rig the governorship and house of assembly elections in Lagos State.

At a press conference in Lagos today, the party’s publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed accused the PDP of gun running, and distribution of fake result sheets, as part of measures to rig Saturday polls and capture Lagos at all costs.

President Jonathan has relocated to Lagos, the party claimed with a N10 billion war chest to supervise the rigging plans.

According to Muhammed, AIG Mbu Joseph Mbu has seized control of the Lagos command from Police Commissioner Kayode Aderantifor the elections and claimed that plans were afoot to arrest, harass and intimidate key leaders of the APC. Said Muhammed:

“Gentlemen, the PDP is ready to storm polling units in areas where the APC is strong either to disrupt voting by attacking voters or simply carry away voting materials. We have it on good authority that the PDP point man  has been driving around designated pick-up points to drop fake NYSC and military uniforms, guns and cash. In a clandestine and brazen operation in Lagos, this point man and his team have also added the distribution of fake result sheets to PDP agents.

“At a popular Maryland Vendor stand, which is one of the muster points for the PDP thugs, 3 big bags containing NYSC Polo shirts, as well as fake Police and Army uniforms, were handed over to some PDP thugs by the agents Then at 5:30 AM this morning, at exactly the same location, the Vendor stand in Maryland close to Mobil Filing station, two white Hilux trucks pulled up and dropped 60 medium size rectangular cartons.

“On hand were the same men who collected the bags of fake NYSC  t-shirts some days back. Their conversation, which took place in Yoruba langage, revealed a lot. The four men asked from the person delivering the cartons “owo nko” (where is the money). The man in the car said both the money and the guns were inside the box. He also explained to the four men that later in the evening of today, Friday, the four men should return to the same point to collect fake result sheets from Baju Laiye (the hub of printing in Lagos) that will be wrapped up in newspapers and delivered just like the way newspapers are delivered.

“The men who collected the guns, fake uniforms and result sheets are those designated to storm polling units to tomorrow. They will also instigate violence across the state, with a view to scaring away voters, especially in APC strongholds.

“The PDP has turned Saturday’s elections into a do-or-die affair. The plan is to use thugs and militants who have also been imported into the state to intimidate voters, snatch ballot boxes and provide cover for the PDP to announce false results tomorrow. Fake ballot papers as well as results sheets are already being issued to the PDP.”

Muhammed said the President flew into Lagos on Thursday expressly to oversee the PDP’s rigging plans.

”He met with his point men: Musiliu Obanikoro, Jimi Agbaje and Gani Adams, apparently to hand over the war chest to them. It is interesting that despite their failure, in view of the dollar rain that fell on the South-west, to capture the region, they have not relented in wasting public funds to swing the outcome of elections. Nigerians have shown that they cannot be swayed by bribery. If money were to be the determining factor, the PDP would not have lost the presidential elections. Just as they failed on March 28th, they will fail again tomorrow”.

Muhammed claimed that AIG Mbu, acting on Jonathan’s directive, stormed the Lagos police HQ today  and took over the CP’s office, claiming he is now in charge of the election in Lagos. 

Meanwhile, the IG of police, Suleiman Abba, had posted the DIG in charge of training in Abuja, Mr Argungu, to oversee the election in Lagos. Mbu had been posted to take charge of affairs in Ogun state.

The President by his directive has overridden the directives of the IG without his knowledge, he added.