Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State and the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Oyebamiji, on Thursday exchanged accusations over alleged attempts to induce voters to part with their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The latest exchange followed Adeleke’s warning that some politicians were allegedly purchasing PVCs and collecting Personal Identification Numbers, PINs, from unsuspecting voters, an action he said could undermine the credibility of the election.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor alleged that there was a coordinated operation by members of the APC to obtain PVCs and PINs from voters, particularly in areas considered strongholds of the Accord Party.
Adeleke claimed the alleged operation was aimed at preventing affected voters from casting their ballots by manipulating their voter registration details before election day.
He said, “APC agents are extracting the PIN numbers on the voters’ cards through offering of monetary rewards. The operation is targeting local governments with huge followership of the Accord Party. The plot is to ensure massive dislocation of registered voters from their place of registration.”
The governor alleged that some individuals were being compelled to swear oaths before surrendering copies of their voter cards or PINs, urging residents to reject any form of inducement capable of denying them their voting rights.
Adeleke also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to investigate the allegations, saying, “I task the electoral body not to look the other way. We have reports of insider collusion which
