Benue elections: APC planning to frame-up Suswam, Jev, Moro – PDP raises alarm

The Peoples Democratic Party in Benue State has raised the alarm over the alleged desperate move by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State to frame and implicate candidates in the state and have them arrested before the Saturday, 23rd February, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The party through its State Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom in a statement claimed that the uncovered plot involves the branding of some vehicles in the names of PDP’s Senatorial candidates for zones ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, Gabriel Torwua Suswam Emmanuel Yisa Orker Jev and Patrick Abba Moro, respectively.

According to him, “PDP’s candidates for the House of Representatives in Gwer/Gwer-West, Mark Gbilla; Makurdi/Guma, Benjamin Mzondu; Gboko/Tarka, Bernard Nenger, and Logo/Ukum/Katsina-Ala, Richard Gbande are also listed to be implicated in the plot.

“The evil plot involves the branding of some vehicles to be stock-piled with fake ballot papers thumb-printed in the favour of the identified PDP candidates, and those vehicles are to be parked at strategic locations in Makurdi, Guma, Anyiin, Otukpo, Gboko and Ukum as if they truly belong to the targeted PDP candidates.

“The sources further revealed that top APC leaders in the state who are behind the plot have already earmarked huge sums of monies with which to bribe the police to impound the branded vehicles and address a press conference at which they will accuse the PDP candidates of being electoral offenders and subsequently effect their arrest.

“The obvious objective of this nefarious plot is to get those targeted PDP candidates out of circulation during Saturday’s polls to pave way for an easy victory for APC, as according to our sources, the party considers those PDP candidates as being too strongly rooted on ground, and anchoring an imminent PDP victory in the Saturday poll.

“The Benue State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hereby calls on its teeming members and all lovers of democracy across the state to be vigilant in the face of the mounting desperation of the APC which having failed so abysmally and irredeemably in governance is resorting to all manner of voodoo tactics to rig their way back to power.

“Regardless of the rescheduling of the elections from 16th to 23rd of this month, and the failed attempt by the APC to blackmail the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Benue PDP observes with immense satisfaction that our people have remained firm in their resolve to kick out of power APC which as a party has become synonymous with nothing but blood, toil and tears to Nigerians.

“Saturday, 23rd February, 2019 is only but a few days away, and we must maintain due diligence and vigilance until victory is achieved.”