The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of adopting the strategy of vote buying to win this Saturday’s governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state.
The party also gave damning monetary figures the PDP was allegedly planning to pay compromised electoral officers in the state in order to win the elections and retain power.
In a statement in Abuja today, the Chairman of APC in the state, Comrade Abba Yaro said the PDP-led government had allegedly failed to initiate and complete any meaningful project in the last four years, stressing that using the state owned resources to buy votes would amount to playing on the sensibilities of the Benue electorates, especially those who are vulnerable.
Yaro called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as other security agencies to get ready to commence an investigation and arrest of culprits, saying vote buying is a criminal offence under the laws of Nigeria.
“We wish to remind the governor that in 2015, when the people of Benue State voted massively for APC, he did not have any money to buy votes. This implies that conscience of the people of Benue State cannot be bought with silver or gold.
“The party is advising the governor to use the money he intends to buy voters to offset salaries or better still, pay pensioners, at least, four months’ pension,” the APC said.
But the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, dispelled the claims as cheap blackmail, aimed at discrediting and distracting the PDP government in the state.
The PDP said the APC was losing grounds in the state and was in panic mode, hence the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations.
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