Vote Buying: PDP alleges Abiodun, APC making efforts to stall investigations

The Ogun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the ruling All Progressive Party (APC) and the Nigeria Police Force are frustrating the ongoing investigation on vote-buying allegedly perpetrated by the ruling party across the state, during the last governorship election.

Consequent upon the March 18 governorship election held in the state, the candidate of the PDP, Oladipupo Adebutu, had alleged that the ruling party committed electoral malpractices in an attempt to rig him out.

In a press statement recently signed by the Ogun PDP chairman, Sikirulai Ogundele, and made available to journalists, the party said it is not oblivious of an alleged plot by the APC in connivance with the police to scuttle investigations.

“The Ogun State PDP is aware that All Progressives Congress (APC), Ogun State Chapter and its candidate at the March 18, 2023 Ogun gubernatorial election, Dapo Abiodun is putting unbearable pressure on the police aimed at intimidating and frustrating them in its ongoing investigation of the massive vote buying scheme perpetrated at the last Governorship and State Assembly election across Ogun State by Dapo Abiodun and APC coordinated by an Ijebu businessman with direct funding from the coffers of the Ogun State in a bid to stunt the investigation and to reveal the drain on Ogun State Public Finances used to fund Dapo Abiodun personal ambition to the detriment of the majority of indigenes of Ogun State. A waste of the collective patrimony of Ogun State.

“Dapo Abiodun and the APC are hereby warned to desist from acts geared at jeopardizing the ongoing investigation which will unravel and reveal who really indulged in voters’ inducement prior to and vote buying at the Ogun governorship election with a view of bringing the offenders to book. Ogun PDP is always ready to render its utmost help to the police’s investigation into allegations of vote buying during the 2023 Ogun State governorship election. So that perpetrators of electoral offences; thuggery, violence, destruction of voting materials, falsification of results, voters’ inducement and vote buying will be punished.And served as a lesson to all whose personal ambition will lead them on paths that compromise the integrity of our electoral process which will make our people lose faith in the sanctity of election. A great danger to our democracy.

“The hierarchy of the police and the men of the Nigerian Police Force who displayed stellar performance during the 2023 general election is advised to resist all pressure from Dapo Abiodun and APC and go to the root of the massive deployment of monies through direct cash payment to voters in Ogun State government envelopes and prepaid card funded with Ogun State monies to buy votes during the electionthrough proxies. The police must recover the funds for the prepaid cards for payment into Ogun State government coffers.

“We are aware that to cover its track and divert attention from its compromise of the electoral process, the APC and Dapo Abiodun has been using the instrument of power at the State level and its leverage as the ruling party at the center to hound and harass the PDP with frivolous allegation of vote buying when they were the ones who indulged in massive vote buying with Ogun State Government monies amongst other acts of thuggery, ballot snatching and destruction, result falsification, etc.

“The Ogun PDP and the entire citizenry of Ogun State is watching keenly as the investigation unfolds. Ogun PDP will not hesitate to take necessary legal steps to ensure that the investigations into money laundry, voters’ inducement and vote buying at the Ogun State governorship election of March 18, 2023, is professionally investigated.

“We urge the police to remain steadfast and true to the powers donated to it by the constitution. The future of our democracy to the benefit of all remains application the even application of law to all no matter their party,their standing in society and whether of the ruling party or not. Nigerians are watching closely,” the statement reads.