KANO: APC, NNPP trade accusations of election rigging

KANO: APC, NNPP trade accusations of election rigging

Kano state government has claimed it received credible information on planned use of suspected election observers by members of the opposition New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the state to perpetrate a network of election rigging during and after the conduct of Saturday, March 18 governorship and state House of Assembly election.

NNPP on the other hand accused the government of planning to use the Department of State Security (DSS) to perpetrate rigging in the same election.

The state commissioner for information and internal affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba, stated in a statement that the NNPP has perfected plans to use bogus election observers to infiltrate polling centres to influence unsuspecting voters and collation centres with a view to having access to the place to commit election malfeasance.

He stated that out of desperation, the NNPP has cloned identity of accredited observers by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for about 150 of its members in the metropolitan area to execute the plan.

Meanwhile, the NNPP alleged that the DSS was working in cohort with the ruling party in the state to subvert the will of the people.

Speaking on behalf of the party, Dr Baffa Abdullahi Bichi, a defeated senatorial candidate of the party said NNPP supporters would embark on a peaceful march across the city to protest against what they termed an “illegal retaining of the Kano State Director of the DSS”, whom he alleged was due for retirement 15 months ago.

He said the protest became the last resort of the party because it has intelligence that the DSS boss was kept in office to assist the ruling APC in the forthcoming elections.

The party also alleged that some tactical teams of the DSS have been deployed from Abuja and were being kept in hotels and safe houses to help perpetrate the plans.

The party said it will carryout peaceful protest on Thursday to demand that the State Director of the DSS proceed on retirement immediately.

Bichi said all the senators-elect, House of Representatives members-elect and all candidates of the NNPP in the state will lead the protest.

Later report however revealed that the planned protest was shelved by the party, citing security concerns.

Making the disclosure on behalf of the party chairman at a press conference, Dr Baffa Abdullahi Bichi, said the cancellation was occasioned by concerns raised by the police who expressed the fear that it might be hijacked by some hoodlums and turn it into another thing else.

Earlier on Thursday, the DSS had announced the arrest of two NNPP supporters who it claimed incited violence ahead of Saturday’s elections.

DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, who disclosed this Thursday morning, explained that the duo of Sharu Abubakar Tabula and Isma’il Iliyasu Mangu, were tracked down after the suspects had separately recorded inciting messages, which they shared through various social media channels.

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