The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday evening alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was hoarding the presidential and senatorial elections result sheets for undisclosed reasons.

“The party also alerts that PDP agents are being denied the INEC accreditation and identification cards, ostensibly to shut them out of the election monitoring process and allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) a field day to manipulate the process.

“The party says its monitoring and intelligence show that INEC has been distributing sensitive election materials in most states of the federation without the Presidential and Senatorial elections results sheets,” PDP said in a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary and Director, Media & Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization.

“The development,” according to PDP, “is already heightening tension and suspicion of underhand method by the commission to open the elections for manipulations and allow the APC to enter fictitious results for onward transmission to collation centers.

“Intelligence available to us indicates that this is part of the plot for which President Muhammadu Buhari’s relation by marriage, Mrs. Amina Zakari, has been retained as the head of the INEC collation center.

“The PDP therefore cautions INEC to show its impartiality by immediately releasing the Presidential and senatorial elections result sheet as well as the accreditation cards. Any further delay will be a clear recipe for crisis as Nigerians are already highly agitated over the matter.

“INEC should note that Nigerians are very anxious about this election and any action that, in anyway, portrays or tends to portray the process as being manipulated is capable of triggering a crisis of unprecedented proportion in our country.”

News Express reports that the Presidential and National Assembly elections, originally scheduled to hold nationwide from this morning, was postponed by INEC around midnight. The commission, citing logistics challenges, announced next week Saturday, February 23, as the new date for the elections while the Governorship and State House of Assembly ballot was shifted from March 2 to 9, 2019.

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