The Kayode Fayemi Campaign Council has accused three officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with Governor Ayo Fayose to rig the July 14 governorship election.
The three INEC officials fingered in the alleged rigging plot are Egharevba John, Festus Aisien, Igidiogu Kelechi and a former official of the agency, Ishaku Abbo.
Addressing a news conference on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, the Deputy Director General (Ekiti South) of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Council, Mr. Bamidele Faparusi, alleged that INEC headquarters and security agencies have been informed on the development.
The campaign body claimed that while Egharevba, Aisien and Igidiogu came from INEC headquarters in Abuja to carry out the act, Ishaku had been residing in the Government House for about six months working in cahoots with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government to rig the poll.
Faparusi alleged that sensitive materials like stamps, permanent voter cards, Form EC8A and accreditation forms have been produced in the Ado-Ekiti Government House with the help of the INEC officials.
The officials, he said, worked in Administration, Stores and Distribution and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Departments at INEC headquarters.
The campaign chief expressed dismay while the officials had made Government House their abode without holding any meeting with other political parties involved in the forthcoming governorship poll.
Faparusi said: “We have it on good authority that Governor Ayodele Fayose in cahoots with some corrupt top officials of INEC in the state are busy attempting to compromise the electoral process in favour of PDP.
“We have it on good authority that an election expert, one Ishaku, a former INEC official, has been living with the governor in the Government House since January this year.
“After these illegal activities in the Government House, there was a secret meeting held with three top officials of INEC from the national headquarters in the Government House.
“Curiously, these three top officials hold strategic positions in election management. One is from the Admin, one is from Stores and Distribution Dept while the other is ICT top official.
“For the reasons best known to them, only the Government House was their exclusive port of call; APC was never in the picture.
“We have it on good authority that an election expert, one Ishaku, a former INEC official, has been living with the governor in the Government House since January this year.
“After these illegal activities in the Government House, there was a secret meeting held with three top officials of INEC from the national headquarters in the Government House.
“Curiously, these three top officials hold strategic positions in election management. One is from the Admin, one is from Stores and Distribution Dept while the other is ICT top official.
“For the reasons best known to them, only the Government House was their exclusive port of call; APC was never in the picture.
“After this evil agenda, Fayose stormed the media to raise allegations that the APC was in Ondo State Government House to manipulate the ballot to give APC an edge in the July 14 election.
“Documents already produced include stamps, PVCs, Result sheets (Form EC8A) and INEC accreditation forms. We are calling on INEC headquarters to note these atrocities being perpetrated by its corrupt officials to tarnish the image of the electoral body.
“You will recall Fayose’s illegal activities in the 2014 election as contained in Captain Koli tape. We don’t want a repeat of that experience.”
But the campaign organisation of the PDP governorship candidate, Prof Kolapo Olusola, described the allegations by the APC candidate as a function of “a frustrated desperate politician that is already smelling electoral defeat”.
Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign Organisation, Lere Olayinka, said it was clear that Fayemi was raising alarm to cover up his plans to manipulate himself to power.
Olayinka, who maintained that the PDP position is that the July 14 election must be free, fair and transparent, added: “Those banking on ‘federal might’ to foist themselves on Ekiti people are the ones now crying just to divert attention.
“We have been preparing for this election since 2016 and Ishaku Abbo was engaged as a consultant since then.
“Whereas, Fayemi is just running around trying to market a battered image to the same Ekiti people that he maltreated when he was governor and did nothing when he was Minister.
“Our question is; did we prevent Fayemi and his ilk from also engaging a consultant? Are we the ones who made them to rely solely on federal might instead of the might of God and the people of Ekiti?
“If they are now being faced with the reality of a failed believe in federal might, shouldn’t they just accept defeat instead of this childish attempt to create a excuse for their impending electoral failure?
“As for us in the PDP, with the support of God and Ekiti people that we enjoy, we are sure of wining the election in a free and fair atmosphere and we are hopeful that INEC will prove Nigerians wrong by conducting a free, fair and credible election in Ekiti.”