WHEN the bird learns to fly without perching, the hunter learns to shoot without missing.

The above adage captures the plans of many politicians and political parties as they engage a new gear in their battle to win electoral seats in the 2023 general elections.

Already, many plans have been executed successfully but fresh and decisive ones must be carried out to corner the electoral mantles.

Some plans that have been executed include getting supporters and party faithful to take part in the recently concluded voters registration exercise: and suppressing perceived supporters of opponents from being registered as voters. There were also attempts to pad the voters register by listing foreigners, underage people, and registering supporters multiple times.

Recently, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said some of its staff tried to register voters multiple times and disclosed that the affected officers had been fished out and were being sanctioned. The electoral umpire also delisted 2.7 million underaged and unqualified voters and assured that it would clean the voters register before the polls that will start on February 25, 2023 with the presidential and National Assembly elections.

Hoarding PVCs

With voters registration over, the next stage is collection of the Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs. Saturday Vanguard gathered that some politicians have devised means of denying perceived opponents their PVCs in collaboration with INEC officials in the Local Government Areas.

A source said: “The game plan is to sort the PVCs based on the names on the cards. You know we mobilized people to register during the voters registration exercise. We know those we mobilized. We will ensure that those we mobilized get their PVCs. If you are not one of those we mobilized you are on your own.”

Stomach infrastructure

With rising poverty in the land, some politicians have embarked on fresh welfare packages to win the support of would be voters.

Penultimate week, the Rivers State Governor appointed 200,000 special assistants in the various constituencies of the state in addition to 359 state and LGA liaison officers. The 200,359 aides will be given allowances from date of appointment till May 29, 2023 and their allowances are estimated to cost the state N42 billion.

The special assistants are expected to mobilize voters for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, candidates in the state.

Speaking on the issue, in a chat with Saturday Vanguard, Prince Ugo Beke, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Governorship Candidate in Rivers, described the appointment of 200,000 aides as an attempt to buy votes.

However, he said the move would not give PDP victory in Rivers, arguing that with the introduction of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS, by the INEC, votes would count and riggers would be frustrated in the 2023 polls.

However, Saturday Vanguard gathered that many politicians are toeing the line of Wike on a higher scale.

A top leader of one the political parties told Saturday Vanguard: “Wike appointed 200,000 aides. We are doing a similar thing on a larger scale. We mobilized over one people for the voters registration. The 2023 election will be different from past elections because of the BVAS and redesigning of the naira. In the past, an officer in charge of a polling unit may be given N500,000 or one million naira. From the money, he will take care of agents of the other parties, security agents and INEC officials and we will take charge of the process.

“With BVAS, things have changed. But we are politicians and we know how to play the game. We have mobilized real people, real voters, up to one million in some LGAs. We have started giving them allowances of N10,000 every month and it will continue till the end of the election.”

CUPP kicks, APC counters

Indeed, the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, on Monday, alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, had concluded plans to transfer cash to 10 million voters in over 20 states in what it described as operation wire-wire (digital vote buying) during the 2023 polls.

CUPP Spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere alleged that the APC had harvested the names, account numbers, voters identification numbers and bank verification numbers of citizens for digital vote buying.

Countering, the APC Presidential Campaign Council,. PCC, accused the CUPP of spreading wicked rumours to portray the APC Presidential Candidate,Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in bad light.

“If you believe this CUPP allegation), you will believe anything. This is .a mere rumour concocted by the PDP and surrogate CUPP to malign our candidate. We are working hard to win this election by a landslide,” Mr. Bayo Onanuga, director, Media and Publicity, APC PCC, said.

Obi-Datti Campaign raise alarm over alleged sabotage PVC collection

Also, the Obi-Datti Media Office Office raised alarm over reports reaching it that the collection of PVCs was not going smoothly in some centres across the country.

It said It’s attention was drawn in particular to Lagos state where in some identified areas prospective voters wishing to collect their PVCs were being frustrated with all kinds of excuses.

The office said In a statement: “We are also aware of the large inducement to some personnel of the INEC in Lagos to lure them into the dubious nefarious act.

“When we recently charged President Muhammedu Buhari and the INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu to walk their talk of their promise to conduct free and fair elections in 2023, we expect that they should be concerned about all pre-Election Day activities.

“Concentrating only on Election Day activities while the major rigging is taking place ahead of the election is counter-productive and will defeat all the good intentions of the President and the commission.

“There should be no preferential treatment of any area or individuals as being reported in Lagos State and where such exist should discontinue immediately and affected commission officials seriously reprimanded.”

However, the electoral umpire has assured that votes would count in 2023 and urged people to approach INEC offices to collect their PVCs. It also urged the citizenry to report any officer frustrating their efforts to collect their PVCs. (Vanguard)

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