Lagos PDP alleges threat to credible elections

With just four days to the commencement of the April general elections, the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said the growing spate of violence and crisis allegedly perpetuated by the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria in the state would mar the smooth conduct of the exercise. The party, at a news conference in Lagos, said its members had come under serious intimidation in the last couple of days, saying if the situation was allowed to continue, there might not be meaningful elections. The Lagos PDP also said that the former Minister of State for Interior, Mr. Demola Seriki, the Deputy Chairman of the party, Mr. Tunde Salau and Publicity Secretary, Dr. Wale Ahmed, who defected on Sunday to the ACN were moles in the PDP all along. Chairman of the Publicity Committee of the party’s Campaign in Lagos, Dr. Segun Ogundimu, said the reported cases of security breaches, outbreak of violence and attendant causalities that were experienced in some ACN rallies had been unfortunately linked to the PDP, adding that this had created apprehension among the people. He said, “We have it on good authority that the ACN has concluded plans to sponsor more of such violence to create the negative impression that Lagos State is not secure enough for the conduct of the elections. Violence is to be used by the party to create a general atmosphere of insecurity and scare people away from performing their civic responsibility on election day. Ogundimu pointed out that the party was attacked by ACN loyalists in rallies conducted at Ebute-Metta, Lagos Central District and Orelope in Egbeda area of Alimosho Local Government Area in recent times. On the defection of some of its members to the ACN, the chairman of the party, Mr. Setonji Koshoedo, said their defection was in order because they had been suspected to be moles in the party all along. But in a swift reaction, the former publicity secretary of the party said they (the defectors) did not expect to hear anything positive from the drowning PDP. He, however, said they (the defectors) were committed members of the PDP who did their best to bring the party back on track in the state, adding that they were never at any point moles in their former party. By Mudiaga Affe Courtesy Of: Punch