On Thursday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State accused the opposition APC of violating the peace agreement for free and fair elections by destroying the opponents’ campaign literature and billboards.
This was said at a press conference conducted at the Makurdi party secretariat by Issac Mffo, the party’s acting state chairman.
Mffo also denounced the practice of some criminal elements in the state of gathering voter identity information from rural residents.
According to Mffo, the development left the state feeling uncertain and uneasy.
“We understand the weight of the responsibility on us to lead from the front going into the coming elections, and both legally and morally, we are fulfilling the requirements expected of us as a political party, having signed to the Peace Accord for free and fair elections together with our opponents, and as well, we have been in the lead of interacting with relevant state agencies for the purpose of ensuring a healthy atmosphere within wh
“In order to comply with the rules governing the conduct of campaigns in the areas of mounting of billboards, pasting of posters, and placement of advertisements, we have received notices from and met with the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), the Benue State Urban Development Board, and the Advertisement Regulatory Commission of Nigeria (ARCON).
As the political party in power in Benue State, we have paid the required fees for carrying out some of the aforementioned activities. Unfortunately, many of the campaign materials we have used have been destroyed or vandalized by opponents who have not yet been identified or apprehended by security agents to whom we have reported this issue.
The activities of some unidentified forces, he continued, “are reported to be moving around in our rural areas with documents with which they are demanding and, in some cases, collecting voter identity details of our people, creating concern and confusion.
“Such elements’ motivations are questionable, and while we urge the public to avoid them and their actions, we also urge security personnel to look into and detain those responsible because it is highly likely that their actions are intended to rig the election and distort the will of the Benue electorate.
The claim made against opposition parties in the state, according to Austin Agada, the State Chairman of the main opposition All Progressives Congress, is equivalent to calling the kettle black.
However, Agada requested that the state’s PDP leadership identify individuals responsible for gathering voter information, saying that “let PDP in the state specify those responsible for gathering voter information because it is PDP that owns the money to buy PVCs from the people.”
