2019 ELECTION :PDP acuses APC for importing thugs!

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state was importing thugs and ammunition into the state.

The PDP said APC embarked on this in a desperate bid to win Saturday’s bye-election into the vacant House of Representatives seat of Oke Ero/Irepodun/Ekiti/Isin Federal Constituency.

However, the APC, in its reaction, described the allegation as baseless and said the PDP was only raising a false alarm.

Chairman of the PDP in the state, Kola Shittu, who spoke in Ilorin on Monday, alleged that the APC was importing the thugs from Lagos and Osun states. He said that the motive behind the importations was to disrupt and manipulate the election.

While stating that he had it on good authority that some suspected political thugs were already in the state, Shittu alleged that a leader of the NURTW in Lagos would arrive the Federal Constituency with many others from Tuesday.

He said: “The imported thugs, we learnt, will be camped at different hotels in Ekiti, Oke Ero, Isin and Irepodun local government areas from where they will be operating. The plan of the APC is to deploy these thugs to harass and intimidate members and supporters of the PDP from turning up at voting centres, especially in areas considered to be the stronghold of our party. This will also give the APC leeway to carry out their planned rigging.”

The PDP chairman also said that there was plan by The Federal Government to deploy about 20,000 policemen and soldiers for the bye-election and described the plan as a ploy to create fear in minds of the voters.

“We also believe that this heavy deployment of security officers is deliberate because Kwara is the home base of the Senate President. Our party condemns in its entirety this unnecessary show of force,” he said.