Former member of the National Assembly and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Cairo Ojougboh, has alleged plans by an unnamed political party to rig next Saturday’s governorship and house of assembly election in Delta State.

In the clandestine plan, some returning officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as three commissioners of police have been comprosised by a certain governorship candidatate for the purpose of rigging the election in favour of the political party and candidate, he claimed.

Speaking with newsmen in Asaba on Tuesday, Ojougboh stated that, unknown to him, the Inspector-General of Police (I-G) was deceived into deploying the three police commissioners to Delta State for the purpose of fraudulently turning the outcome of especially the gubernatorial election for a particular candidate.

Similarly, an unspecified no number of INEC electoral officers and returning officers drawn from certain higher educational institutions in the state have been recruited by the unknown desperate candidate to perfect the evil plan to sabotage the will of the people and electorate of Delta State, he said.

Speaking in his capacity as the Protem Secretary of the national Coalition for Peace and Unity, a non-govermental organisation, Ojougboh appealed the Delta State Resident Electoral Commissioner “to change the compromised INEC electoral and returning officers to save the day and protect the integrity of the electoral umpire.

Ojougboh, who described the APC as “a party of peace” and himself as a “peace ambassador”, expressed the hope “that INEC will hearken to our plea in order order to prevent anarchy.”

“I call on the state REC to immediately withdraw these compromised electoral officers, and the I-G to do the needful by redeploying the three police comissioners,” the one-time deputy national chairman of the PDP said.

However, he appealed to all parties not to take laws into their hands whatever the outcome of the forthcoming election but to seek legal redress of their grievances.

He also opined that the INEC had done creditably well with the BVAS considering the mix the results of the national assembly election have created, adding that he toed the line the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu that he had heard the message of the youth of this country loud and clear.

Ojougboh denied insinuations in some quarters that he had become less active in politics and the activities of the APC, saying not only did he attend major activities of the APC during the current electioneering period but was at his Agbor home during the presidential and national assembly election; just as he would be home for Saturday’s election.

Nevertheless, the state director for voter education, Mr Bukola Ojeme said that INEC could not coment on the allegation by Dr Ojougboh because there was no formal report with evidence to back the allegation. (THISDAY)

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