By NewsCritic Reporters
The Action Peoples Party, APP, and its House of representative hopeful in Ukwa West/East federal constituency Abia state, Chief Slyvanus Uzoma Nwaji have raised the alarm over an alleged subtle plan by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state to compromise the forthcoming 2023 polls through massive vote buying.
They have consequently called on the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, men and women of good conscience and all the relevant authorities, especially security agencies to close monitor the activities of the PDP in the state, so as not to allow it and its desperate actors to erode the credibility of the process.
Chief Nwaji who spoke at a press conference in Aba Thursday, said that the PDP in Abia having performed abysmally, having only succeeded in inflicting pains on the people and now faced with imminent crushing defeat at the polls has resorted to underhand dealings to smuggle themselves back to the corridors of power through the back door.
He accused the PDP of using the instrumentality of the Federal government sponsored free feeding programme for school children in its latest sinister move to compromise the elections. According to him, the PDP in a desperate effort to influence the outcome of the elections have allegedly been coaxing and mopping up the Permanent Voters Cards of all the food vendors contracted for the free feeding scheme.
“For the record, we want the people to know that on Tuesday January10, 2023 the Education Secretary for Ukwa West local council acting on the directives of the Abia state Government summoned all the food vendors to her house. She directed that while coming every one of them should allegedly come with a minimum of two PVCs or risk sanction. In the first place, this is a federal government sponsored programme not that of the state. For them to use same to curry or buy votes smacks of desperation.
“For years you had the opportunity to work for the people, but you chose to feather your nests and now you want to go through the back door. It is not business as usual as the people are poised to end the era of PDP madness in Abia,” Nwaji stated.
He further stated that they will be forwarding a formal petition to INEC and all other relevant bodies saddled with the conduct of the polls on the issue.
