Edo PDP plotting to rig 2015 poll -Oshiomhole

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday alleged that the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party had "perfected plans to rig" the forthcoming general elections, an allegation the opposition party denied.

Oshiomhole said some PDP stalwarts had started "making contact" with senior military officers to aid them in ensuring that thugs loyal to the opposition party were given unhindered movement to execute their "rigging plot" during the polls.

He said, "Politicians are already making contact with senior military officers, under the 4 Brigade, asking them to assist their thugs in buying rubbers (arm bands) of various colours to distinguish Peoples Democratic Party thugs from All Progressive Congress, to have special stickers that would be used in identifying their people."

In a reaction, the PDP State Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, told our correspondent on telephone that the allegation was an attempt by the state governor to explain his inevitable defeat and that of the All Progressives Congress at the polls, having been rejected by the citizens of the state.

Orbih, therefore, called on the governor to "retract" his statement.

He said, "There is no truth whatsoever in the governor's allegation. If there is any person that has anything close to a uniform, it is the governor. So, I want to say that the statement is a desperate ‎expression of a drowning political actor.

"Having realised that Edo teachers have rejected him, Edo judicial workers have rejected him, local government workers are rejecting him, victims of demolition exercise are rejecting him‎ saying that they will use their voting power to say 'No' to the APC, Governor Oshiomhole has quickly invented a storyline to explain his inevitable defeat at the polls.

"He should retract his statement because it is irresponsible and untrue.

But Oshiomhole, who lamented that Nigerian politics had degenerated so low that "we have stripped ourselves naked that even children are beginning to peep at our private parts," however, urged the military to resist any attempt to compromise the credibility of the elections.

‎‎He added, "I plead with you in the name of God, let your officers resist the overture of politicians."

However, the 4 Brigade has described the Governor's claim as a serious allegation that it would investigate, noting that it had earlier sensitised its troop on the need for proper conduct, in line with the Code of Conduct for Army Personnel.