…accuses main opposition party of instigating violence
Former Commissioner for Information in Edo State, Prince Kassim Afegbua, has knocked the opposition Peoples Democratic Party over incendiary statements capable of igniting violence in the polity, by wrongly accusing the electoral body of trying to tamper with the results of the elections.
Afegbua said the PDP situation room must have portrayed the entire results of the elections as unfavourable to the party to “deliberately” instigate violence across the country.
The former commissioner stated this in a statement on Tuesday.
According to him, rather than shouting wolves where none exists, the PDP should allow INEC to perform its constitutional responsibility and conclude the presidential election in time to enable the electoral body to prepare for the governorship poll scheduled for March 11.
Afegbua said only those afraid of losing the elections had been questioning the transparency of the elections.
He accused the PDP of deliberately overheating the polity because the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is clearly leading from the results released so far by INEC.
Afegbua, therefore, advised the PDP to take a cue from the ruling APC’s display of “uncommon maturity in this whole exercise” by not instigating a nationwide violence.
Below is the full text of Afegbua’s press statement:
“The PDP situation room must have exposed the total outcome of the election as not being favourable to the PDP, hence their deliberate effort to cause mayhem across the country. The Electoral Body should be allowed to do its work, and conclude the presidential election in good time, to allow it face the next election on March 11th. The fact of the matter is that, any political party that has agents at the polling units should not be having sleepless nights about the results being announced except where there are discrepancies. And the whole purpose of this announcement is to cross check whether there are discrepancies in declared results and the ones obtained at the Polling Units, that were validated by agents of the political parties. Instead of crying foul over nothing, the PDP should allow the Electoral Umpire to do its statutory responsibility and conclude this process in record time.
“Only those who are afraid of losing the election are the ones raising concerns over the entire transparent process. INEC has not breached any law insofar the results being declared reflect what was obtained at the Polling Units. It is not in doubt that Asiwaju Tinubu is coasting home to victory, following the outcome of declared results, the PDP is deliberately trying to overheat the system and the process in order to discredit such a transparent process. Where PDP leads, there are no complaints, where APC leads, PDP is shouting blue murder. Doesn’t that suggest that the PDP is already aware of its failure? We must be patient to see through this whole process before unguarded statements that could lead to violence are uttered by PDP publicists.
“The APC have been very remarkable in its approach thus far by displaying uncommon maturity in this whole exercise and should be so applauded. PDP should take a cue from the APC and help keep and sustain a violent free polity in the interest of deepening our democracy.
PRINCE KASSIM AFEGBUA
FORMER COMMISSIONER FOR INFORMATION,
EDO STATE.