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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Edo governorship election candidate, Asue Ighodalo, has alleged there is a plan by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use its personnel from Imo and Kogi state in conducting the state’s governorship election.
Asue Ighodalo said such move would undermine the trust the party has on INEC.
He appealed to INEC to use its personnel from states that have records of free and fair elections, not Imo and Kogi states.
Ighodalo also alleged that Nigeria Police have shown bias towards the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
In an interview with Arise TV, on Thursday, Ighodalo explained that most of his supporters have been arrested by police.
He stated that several complaints he made by writing to the state’s Commissioner of Police, Nemo Edwin-Iwo, have not been addressed.
Ighodalo said, “I don’t believe that INEC will not also want to acquit itself remarkably well. I think they should. After we’ve had Imo and Kogi, I think it’s time for INEC to kind of look at its processes and systems and ensure that we have a free and fair and level playing field election.
“Where I have concern is a bit with the police. In the last couple of weeks, the police have been arresting our supporters without basis. And the basis of the law is if you arrest somebody, you charge them to court within 24 hours. If you don’t find anything to charge them, you release them, at least release them on bail. But we noticed that the police have been arresting our supporters.
“We’ve written petitions to the police and that’s what gives us cause for concern because we seem to be seeing that there’s a bias on the side of the police in favor of the APC. And I don’t think that’s an instruction from the president. I’ve known the president for 30 years.
“The president would like a free and fair environment. And he would like where the candidates that the people want is the candidate that wins the election, the candidate that can bring progress to the people.
“So I don’t know what’s going on with the police, but I’m sure they’ll explain themselves shortly. But they seem to give us an impression that they give a perception that we don’t have a level playing field. And that’s the problem. We don’t want our supporters intimidated. We don’t want anybody to give our supporters the impression that things are skewed to any side.”
The PDP governorship candidate appealed that he wants his supporters to feel free and not feel intimidated because of arrests by the Police.
He emphasized that he and other governorship candidates want a free and fair environment for the citizens of Edo to decide who will govern them.
Ighodalo continued, “The rest of the political parties would truly like a free and fair environment, not for people to wake up in the morning and there are strange men knocking on your doors and they carry you away to Abuja and you don’t know why.
“Some of our guys have been arrested for over three weeks now and nothing has happened. No charge to court, no reason why they’re arrested. So that’s the only source of concern to us as a party and to me.
“I don’t want my guys intimidated. If you feel there’s a reason to arrest our guys, please say why. Charge them to court and let’s take it on from there. But people don’t come in the middle of the night, whisk people away.
“The local commissioner of police doesn’t know what’s going on. He says his orders from above, you know these orders from above thing, let’s trace it, orders from who? Why? So that’s the only thing that worries us.”
Speaking on alleged plan by INEC to use its staff from Imo and Kogi states, he explained, “We’re happy with INEC. We’re hoping, you know, there are all these rumors that fly around during the season. So we don’t want to go to rumors. We want to stay on facts. But people say that INEC wants to come to our elections with officials from Imo and officials from Kogi.
“We would please implore INEC that we want into Edo State fresh officials from places that have run electoral processes that are free and fair and are not questioned. I would please appreciate if INEC doesn’t bring Kogi officials or Imo officials into Edo State.”
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