PVC Sells At 10,000 Ahead of Edo APC Primaries

                                           INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu

A governorship aspirant in Edo State, on the platform of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), Engr. Chris Osa Ogiemwonyi, has raised alarm over an alleged
plan by some influential politicians to disenfranchise the party’s statutory
delegates.
Mr. Akemokue Lukman, the director of planning, strategy and operations of
Ogiemwonyi Campaign Organisation, who addressed journalists yesterday in
Abuja, alleged that some lawmakers have started collecting the Permanent
Voter’s Cards (PVCs) from delegates, ahead of the APC governorship primary
election in Benin, scheduled to hold on June 18.
He alleged that the PCVs were collected in exchange for N10, 000.
Mr Lukman, who said the move was an attempt to smuggle Mr Godwin Obaseki,
the alleged preferred candidate of Governor Adams Oshiomhole into the contest
through the back door, called on the affected delegates to go and collect their
PVCs from the ward and local government chairmen.
He described the move as “unacceptable” to the generality of Edo people, party
members and delegates, as well as the good people of Nigeria.
Lukman, who said the issue was serious because both the party’s membership
card and the PVC would be used as means of accreditation during the APC
governorship primary election, called on the Inspector General of Police,
Solomon Arase, to arrest all those allegedly intimidating the delegates and
asking them to submit their PVCs for “untoward purpose”.
But in a swift reaction, Mr Obaseki, said, “I’m not sure Engr. Ogiemwonyi would
have made a statement like that. He is too responsible to say such a thing.
Nothing like that happens. I was in Auchi yesterday (Sunday), where Hon. Philip
Shuaibu hosted about 400 delegates from Etsako.
“We were all seated there and they all (delegates) have their voter’s cards. So,
for someone to make such an unguided statement, it is rather unfortunate. This
is what we try to discourage in my campaign. We must run a campaign that is
clean and truthful; a campaign that sticks to issues on ground.”

Culled from Daily trust