Expect People’s Revolution If You Rig Kogi, Imo Governorship Polls, PDP Warns

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has warned and cautioned the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to perish any iota of thought to rig the Saturday governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states as the people will revolt if the elections are rigged.

The PDP conveyed its warning on Thursday in a statement by Debo Ologunagba, its National Publicity Secretary, ahead of the November 11 elections which include Bayelsa State, where the PDP is the ruling party.

The PDP said it has mobilised the people of the three States to go to every length allowed by the law to protect their votes.

“Our Party restates that it will never allow anybody, no matter how highly placed, to manipulate the electoral process in the governorship election in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States,” the statement said.

“Our party states in clear terms that anybody who attempts to rig or manipulate the election in any way may have to deal with the legitimate wrath of the people.

The PDP specifically cautioned “Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and his puppet candidate, Usman Ododo, to accept their rejection by the people for their abysmal failure in government and get ready to concede defeat on Saturday.”

The party reaffirmed that “all indices from several Entrance Polls indicate that the PDP candidates are leading and will sweep the governorship election in the three States.”

It stressed that any electoral trajectory that does not reflect the clear tide of the will of the people at the polling units will be firmly resisted.

It specifically noted that in Imo State, the PDP confirmed that it has received messages and visits from many prominent Imo State citizens, including major industrialists and businessmen wherein they expressed their support for its candidate, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.

“These prominent Imo citizens have also denied their reported support and donation of funds to the APC and its governorship candidate, Governor Hope Uzodimma.

“Of course, no well-meaning citizen of Imo State will lend support to Governor Hope Uzodimma whose administration has wrecked the economy of the State, brought untold hardship to the people and turned Imo State into a theatre of violence, killings and kidnapping.

“Our Party challenges Governor Uzodimma to make public the names of the Imo State citizens he claimed to have donated money to his campaign so that the people can identify the enablers of insecurity and hardship that his administration represents in the last three years,” the PDP said.

Similarly, it cautioned that the delay by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, to redeploy the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Sylvia Agu, is heightening tension and capable of pushing the people to resort to self-help.

“We are in a democracy and INEC must respect the wishes and aspirations of the people and stakeholders in the electoral process.

“The people of Imo State have spoken clearly in demanding that Prof. Agu must not participate in any capacity whatsoever in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Imo State, given her antecedents in favouring the APC in previous elections.

“The PDP is marching to victory with the people of Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States notwithstanding the antics of the APC,” the PDP stated.