The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has sounded an alarm regarding an alleged conspiracy by suspected arsonists to set fire to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Lokoja.
The Director General of New Media, Isaiah Davies, conveyed this concern in a statement released on Sunday evening in Lokoja on behalf of the MuriSam Campaign Council of SDP.
In a communication titled “The Plot to Burn Down INEC Office in Lokoja Exposed,” the statement called upon security agencies, the media, and the general public to take heed. It emphasized the urgency of bolstering security around the INEC office in Lokoja and implored relevant security authorities to ensure the safeguarding of all electoral materials used in the recently concluded gubernatorial election in the State.
“They want to burn down the building housing those sensitive materials on the guise of a fire outbreak and with the aim of damaging all evidence of rigging.
“We would like the whole world to know that if anything happens to the sensitive materials as ordered by the court to be inspected by the solicitors of the SDP, Governor Yahaya Bello should be held responsible as the chief security officer of the state,” he alleged.
In a swift reaction, the Kogi State All Progressives Congress Governorship Campaign Council called on the general public to hold the Social Democratic Party responsible if anything untoward happens to the INEC office.
The Campaign Council said the party was convinced that the false alarm raised by the SDP over a purported planned attack on the INEC office was to cover up the party’s sinister motive of razing down the INEC office.
A statement on Sunday night, signed by the Director of Media and Publicity/Spokesperson for the Council, Kingsley Fanwo, said, “Their clandestine move to cover up their propaganda-fuelled claims about the election is well documented as we call on security agencies to fortify security around the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission across the state.
“No amount of propaganda can help their baseless, senseless, unsubstantiated claims; their scorecard at the poll was at complete variance with their boastful pre-election posture. They have resorted to attacking INEC and everyone except themselves. Such is the sorry state of a party and its candidate who lacks the political pedigree to challenge the politically rooted APC in Kogi State.
“Despite their intimidation and blood-letting rampage in some parts of the state, INEC conducted a credible, free and fair election and the security agencies also ensured that the votes of the people counted.
“We commend Kogites for standing up to ethnic bigots by responding resoundingly with votes that reflected our unity as a people.
“No one is afraid of the legal challenge of the SDP. They failed to win the election, failed to steal ballot boxes, failed to disunite our state and our people. They were in the race to fail endlessly.”
