APC accused of planning to move the collation centre for Benue re-run to a Makurdi military barracks

CIVIL society group the Benue Youth Alliance (BYA) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of planning to get the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to move the collation centre for the supplementary polls on March 23 to a Makurdi military barracks.

Following Nigeria's recent gubernatorial elections, Inec declared the results of five states inconclusive because the number of cancelled votes exceeded the margin between the two leading candidates. Benue is thus one of the states where supplementary elections will hold on March 23 in what is a straight fight between Governor Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party and the APC challenger Emmanuel Jime.

With Governor Ortom leading with 81,554 votes, the PDP is confident of winning and there are now fears that the APC is resorting to desperate tactics. According to the BYA president , Iorliam Shija, the APC is planning to get the collation centre moved to a Nigerian Army barracks where pre-written results will be announced.

Mr Shija said: “Information from intelligence has it that the APC is pressurising Inec to move the collation centre for the Benue supplementary governorship election to one of the military bases in the state capital. This it is understood is part of the party’s efforts to use Inec as well as security agencies to announce its candidate as the winner of the poll.

“It is on note that the PDP candidate is leading in the poll with a margin of 81, 554 votes. According to figures from the election as released by Inec, there are only 121,019 votes in contention and in order not to take chances, the APC is understood to be contemplating using security agencies even if it means cohesion.”

He added that part of the plan included releasing few ballot papers and withholding a bulk of them to be thumb-printed at a location in the state capital and also in Nasarawa State. BYA thus called on Inec and the security agencies to resist the temptation to buy into what it termed planned escalation of killings in the state.

“Military personnel and other security agencies in neighbouring Kogi and Nasarawa states will be used to sneak in the thump printed ballots and fake results of the rerun to be declared by Inec. All this will be done under heavy security supervision and the choice of a military base to scare off opponents,” Mr Shija added.

He called on Inec to give all parties a level-playing ground. Mr Shija added that the international community is closely watching what is happening in Benue State so as to avoid the repeat of the Osun and Ekiti sagas in the state.