Accuse them of mopping up PVC from workers
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Friday accused the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State of resorting to panicky measures in their desperation to win next Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
One of such panicky measures, according to Oshiomhole, is alleged intimidation of civil servants to surrender their permanent voters cards so that they will not be able to vote in the election.
The workers are said to be angry with the state government for not paying their salaries for about six months and are threatening to show their displeasure with the governor during the election.
Oshiomhole, addressing reporters at his maiden news briefing in Abuja said the governor has ordered civil servants, teachers and other categories of workers in the state to surrender their pvcs.
Those who refused to comply were queried, he said.
His words: “You must have read reports that, in clear violation of the electoral act, Governor Fayose has instructed the civil servants, principals of schools and headmasters to retrieve pvcs from civil servants because he is afraid that the civil servants and the people of Ekiti State will not vote for him and in demonstration of that, they are helping to educate the people on why they should not vote for his candidate.
“He has not paid salaries for one year in spite of the fact that the federal government gave him bail out which he chose to divert to other uses.
“So, they are panicking and while we are encouraging people to collect PVC, he is retrieving PVC.
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“We heard that they have started issuing query to workers, including teachers for refusing to surrender their pvcs. I don’t think you need any other evidence that the governor is panicking and we can’t wait to have him swept away in a free and fair election on the basis of one man, one vote, one woman, one vote.”
The APC chairman claimed that Fayose himself was “ rigged into office and this is no secret because the military officers involved has since confessed to the role they played as well as those involved in the dollars that were withdrawn from the NNPC. These are no secrets anymore.
“I think that Fayose thinks that the very instrument he used to come to power will be used against him. This is a party of change and so, we are not about to copy the darkest side of the PDP.
“If he is afraid of being rigged out, why is he collecting pvcs from registered voters and giving query to people for refusing to surrender their pvcs?
“Why is he harassing heads of institutions and directing lecturers to award 20 percent free marks for any student that voted for his candidate?”
Oshiomole said Fayose appears to be “hunted by the ghost of the forces he used to capture power because he didn’t win the last election.
He dismissed allegation by Governor Fayose that the federal government closed the Akure Airport to stop PDP leaders from attending Thursday’s rally of the party in Ado Ekiti.
He said PDP governors and other leaders of the party freely landed and took off from the airport in their private jets on the day in question.
“Fayose said people were not allowed to fly into Akure airport, but our people have been able to produce a tape of how PDP governors and non-governors littered the Akure airport with private jets.
“He has gone ahead to say that INEC wants to rig him out. Every armed robber thinks that every other person is an armed robber. If there is any political party that is on record as having consistently colluded with INEC, it is the PDP. I am an apostle of one man, one vote.
“I rely on my sole power of persuasion and mobilization and dismantled PDP machinery in Edo State within firing a bullet. We came from the background of people winning election without relying on federal instrument and so, don’t need any reinforcement to do what we know best.
“We will ensure that the rules of the game are obeyed. We have no apology for the fact that this time, Fayose will run on its records and will not be able to use those instruments he used before.”
“If that is what he called rigging, too bad. We have seen a consistent pattern by the PDP that when elections are approaching, they will be shouting rigging, rigging while they are perfecting the act of rigging themselves. What we have brought on board as the new NWC of the APC is how to monitor and ensure that the rigging machine of the PDP is completely dismantled.”
On the call that a vote for Fayemi is a vote for herdsmen, he said “Fayemi was Governor in Ekiti State and there were herdsmen when he was governor and was able to bring leadership to bear and involved the stakeholders. The truth is that we all need each other.
“So, when people resort to bring in those divisive messages, it tells you how bereft of ideas they are and with that coming from a Professor, then I said no wonder that most professors are not successful in politics.”