By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has accused the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of allegedly planning to unleash state-wide violence in Enugu State during the March 11 Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

The allegation is coming a few days after the Governorship Candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr.), also made similar accusation against the PDP of arming political thugs ahead of the election.

Briefing newsmen on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Chairman of CUPP in Enugu state, Mr. Ogbonna Festus, warned the ruling PDP against turning Enugu into a theatre of war.

Ogbonna, who called on security agencies to brace up for the challenge ahead, equally alleged of a sinister move by the PDP to compromise officials of the INEC.

“There are unending claims that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is plotting a state-wide attack in Enugu State in a desperate bid to retain the State,” he said.

The Enugu CUPP Chairman added that it was worrisome that a key member of the ruling party has been issuing all manner of threats to Catholic priests.

“This is quite worrisome; this is not the Enugu state of our dream. Those desirous of positions of authority should seek the people’s mandate rather than cut the throat of the electorate to have their way. This is what the PDP leaders are enthroning in Enugu and it is quite condemnable,” he cautioned.

The Coalition took on INEC, which, it said, was in an illegal romance with the PDP.

“There are also allegations and boasts from the PDP circle of their alliance with the key officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies.

“They are said to have compromised the said INEC officials for the purpose of truncating the credibility of the electoral process.

“This is why we are sounding a note of warning to the INEC and their collaborators that we are not going to accept a situation where the will of the people will be truncated,” CUPP declared.

It further claimed that corrupt INEC officials would come to polling units with fake result sheets, stressing that “the essence of this plot is to give the voters a semblance of credible election, only to swap the fake sheets with the original version after the exercise has ended.”

“Having examined these critical allegations, we, in the CUPP, hereby warn the INEC not to toy with the future of the millions of Enugu residents.

“The INEC must, without compromise, bring all the authentic result sheets to the various polling units in the state.

“They must also, without fail, transmit the results in real time at the polling units.

“For emphasis, we demand that INEC officials at each polling unit must make sure that polling unit results must be in such a manner that duplicate copies must be seen very clearly and countersigned by the Party agents present in case the INEC officials tend to circumvent the BVAS,” CUPP added.

The group urged the people of Enugu State “not to be intimidated by those who do not mean well for the State.”

Meanwhile, the Director of Communications, PDP Campaign Organisation, Mr. Nana Ogbodo, had dismissed the allegations as baseless.

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