The Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday criticised President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of his visit, later in the day, to Warri for a town hall meeting ahead of the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections on March 9.

Delta PDP believes that the trip is aimed at concluding plans to rig the elections on behalf of the federal-ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). It noted, in a statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ifeanyi M. Osuoza, that the visit is the second to Warri by Buhari in about two months.

The party asked why Buhari has always “limited his visits to a microscopic Warri and ignoring the larger areas of the state”.

The statement read in part, “Already, the entire Delta State is abuzz with claims and insinuations and it is being openly said that the President and indeed the whole gamut of well-known election manipulators and hatchet men in the national APC leadership, are visiting Delta State ostensibly to perfect an APC rigging plan and subvert the electoral process and the ultimate democratic decisions of Deltans who have sworn to return Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for a well-deserved second term and vote for all the PDP candidates in the March 9, 2019 State Assembly elections.

“It is indeed a thing of shame that President Buhari will ignore other very important and urgent state matters to come to Warri to be at the head of a despicable scheme to manipulate and swing votes in favour of the unpopular APC and its candidates.

“We condemn the president’s insensitivity to the sensibilities of the people of Delta State who have taken PDP as their party.”

Delta PDP alleged that Buhari had plans to “secretly get the various agencies of the Federal Government, namely, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the police, the military and other security agencies to intimidate and harass PDP supporters.”

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