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Kogi elections: ACN alleges hijack of
ballot papers..Govt says
Audu desperate
Newsdiaryonline Thur Dec 1,2011
Audu
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Kogi State Chapter today
accused the Kogi State
Government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of having
hijacked and thumb printed ballot papers meant for 10 local
governments in order to rig Saturday’s
election.The party said
it has uncovered plans by the PDP to have fake ballot papers
circulated to the 10 local governments to invalidate the
votes.Former Governor Abubakar Audu ACN and Idris Wada ,PDP are
the frontrunners in the gubernatorial election scheduled for
Saturday.
ACN said the Kogi
State Government and the PDP have done this in collaboration
with certain elements in the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to ensure that the fake ballot papers are sent
to areas where its candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu is popular.
The Director General of the Prince Abubakar Audu Campaign
Organization, Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims who stated this in Lokoja
said the move was aimed at rigging tomorrow’s governorship
election in favour of the PDP. According to Halims in a
statement by Sanni Onogu, the media officer to Prince Abubakar
Audu, the State Government has already hijacked the genuine
ballot papers and sensitive election materials to rig the
election at the Government House, Lokoja.
Halims said: “Information reaching us suggests that the Kogi
State Government and PDP have commandeered genuine ballot papers
and other sensitive election materials meant to be distributed
to 10 local government areas especially the Kogi East Senatorial
District where Prince Abubakar Audu is popular while the genuine
ballot papers meant for the area has been hijacked and thumb
printed at the Government House, Lokoja to rig the elections.”
He called on the security agencies to be alive to their
responsibilities to ensure that the elections are not rigged
He added that the ACN still has great confidence in INEC to
conduct a credible, free and fair election even as he urged the
Chairman of IINEC not to allow anything to stain his integrity.
“We use this medium to call on the Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, to
maintain his soaring credibility by thwarting all such evil
machinations of the PDP and the State Government,” Halims
stated.
But Faruk Adejoh, director general of the bureau of
communications , Government
House, Lokoja in a chat
with Newsdiaryonline
debunked the allegation ,and added that “Audu is already
rehearsing his excuse for the
defeat he’s
doomed to suffer on Saturday.I guess by now the man is pretty
used to being disgraced at election, so with time, he has
perfected the art of cooking up excuses.
Adejoh added: “How can anyone suggest that Prof Jega’s INEC will
engage in such crude and obscene manipulation except a man knows
his defeat is guaranteed ?The man is just desperate”
Th
This is the document referred to in the Witness
Statement on Oath of Clifford O. Kokogho as
“Exhibit
COK.2”
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