Osun west bye-election: "Rigging Is Your Method, Plans" APC Replies PDP
Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
The All Progressives Congress APC in Osun state has described as untrue, the allegations that it’s planning to rig in the forthcoming Osun west senatorial bye-election, as levelled against it by the PDP.
The party’s director of Communication and strategy Barrister Kunle Oyatomi said the PDP is the one planning to scuttle the process, because of fear of failure, and not the APC.
Oyatomi was reacting to claims by the PDP in the state that the ruling party has concluded plans to adopt all means possible to manipulate the outcome of the July 8 bye-election in favour of its candidate, Senator Mudashitu Hussein.
The APC spokesperson challenged the PDP to provide proof for the allegations, and report to the appropriate quarters, and stop what he called “pure propaganda”
“It’s our take here in the APC, that the PDP must first of all authenticate the allegations they are talking about, and they should do it with all forensic proof that these allegations are actually factual. The APC believes that the allegations of rigging in the state and Osun west senatorial district in particular cannot hold water.
” Osun PDP and its supporters are just psychologically tormented by the obsession to rule that district at all cost, by all means. We declare that the APC can never descend to the criminality of rigging any election in this state. Since 2011, the APC has been victorious in every contest that has been held, this one can not an exception. We have done it in the past, and we will do it again”
“We are not going to do anything to make this contest look like a life and death battle. Election is to be won and lost. In 2014, with all the forces of military, DSS, Police and humongous amount of money, we still defeated the PDP, not even the supreme court could revert the peoples choice. It cannot be different this time around.
” All these allegations are mere concoctions which they are used to. We know them very well. They will be planning something and the come out to say the other side is planning it. They said so much in the last election. They are merely recycling their methods and strategy which failed them last time, and will also fail them now” Oyatomi stated.
The PDP had at a press conference addressed by its chairman Soji Adagunodo accused the ruling party of making efforts to compromise INEC officials into doing its bidding towards distorting the polls.
The APC according to the PDP chairman is also mounting pressure on the electoral umpire to shift the date of the election, to allow them perfect their alleged plans.
He futher alleged that the APC is planning to arrange the arrest of the some PDP leaders in the district ahead of the polls.
The claims, which the ruling party refuted and described as figment of the PDP’s imagination, saying the alleged plans have always belonged to the PDP.
The bye-election is occasioned by the death of late Isiaka Adeleke, who until April 23 of this year was the Senator representing Osun west senatorial district in the Senate.
