The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been accused of pre-orchestrating violence and pre-arranging the emergence of its candidates through voter suppression in last Saturday’s governorship election in Lagos and other states.
An advisory member of the Labour Party, Tee Mac-Omatshola Iseli, who is an in-law of Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, narrated his experience during the Lagos governorship election while featuring on Arise TV’s ‘The Morning Show’ on Tuesday.
Tee Mac, a former president of the Musician Union of Nigeria (PMAN) with Nigerian and Swiss roots, claimed that APC agents coordinated attacks in his Okota Ago Palace area which according to him has about 186 wards and is a stronghold of the Labour Party.
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He said, “I had a phone call last week from a gentleman who said, Tee Mac, please I want you to make sure you have security in your area because I just attended a meeting at the Mushin Local Government.
“There were APC top people, Baales and Kings, and it was decided that we are going to disturb Okota Ago palace way to Festac because they are not pleased to see that 80 to 90 per cent (of votes) will be Labour Party.
“So, I asked him what do you suggest? and he said, please inform the police and tighten up the security. Also, he said I have just seen the result sheets of the election. How is that possible? And I said, how are we going to accept such a result?
“He said, if you don’t like it, you can go to court and he told me something like: That area will have 48,000 APC then maybe 24,000 for Labour Party, and that is what I saw on your television yesterday,” he said
The LP chieftain also noted that he had to release eight dogs to his boys to scare away 34 thugs who came to the polling units to disrupt the election while claiming that the thugs took instructions from an APC representative who he sighted, but preferred not to identify.
“They threw sticks and bottles at me and my boys. One of my boys got injured on the face and back and we chased them off the street into the Swampy area,” he said.
Tee Mac noted that the number of injured persons during the governorship election was underreported as many hospitals received more cases on the day of the election and subsequent days after.
“People did not come out as in the presidential election, and those who came out to vote, it is either they didn’t find somewhere to vote because the boxes were destroyed, or they were driven back home. So, the outcome of the very poor in that area,” he added.
Also, speaking on the programme, the LP spokesperson, Yinusa Tanko noted that the conspiracy against the party was unfortunately against the Nigerian people.
“A group of people choreographed themselves into a bloc, prepared a script for pre-election, during the election and post-election. What you are seeing at the moment has not stopped yet. They have already orchestrated their plans to execute their plans against the Nigerian state which is what we are seeing unfolding gradually,” he said.
On alleged pre-election conspiracies, Tanko alleged, “Investments are being made involving the security agencies, INEC (Independent Electoral Commission) itself, some politicians and at the same time some gullible electorates.
“During the election, it was executed by intimidation, harassment, killing and disdain which they held the Nigeria people. No wonder you saw in the election result uploading where three elections took place: The Federal House of Representatives, Senate and the Presidential election.
“Now you can upload the House of Representatives, Senate and you cannot upload the result of the presidential election.
“This is a blatant open murder against the interest of the Nigerian state instated by a group of people, saying we have done what we want to do, you can go anywhere you want to go to, we are not perturbed”.
The just concluded governorship and State’s House of Assembly elections have been described by international observers as being below the expectation of Nigerians, having been marred by violence across the states where it held.