The campaign organisation of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Governorship Candidate for Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has taken the
All People’s Congress (APC) to task for denying plans of the ruling
party to use electoral staff to rig the next governorship polls.
The camp was responding to a reaction posted by the Lagos APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, who not only denied the rigging allegation, but poured abuses on the accusers.
“As usual, the APC spokesman went banal and off the hook in denying the obvious and the glaring,” read a statement today by Agbaje’s Director of Media and Publicity, FELIX OBOAGWINA. “But we have done our homework and we can substantiate what we allege with evidence.”
Agbaje’s Campaign Organisation advanced its case by providing a scanned letter, which it said was typical of written and verbal instructions and invitations issued to teachers and civil servants in the state.
“How do you explain a letter from an arm of a state government or local government bureaucracy chanting the APC slogan of, ‘APC! Change!’ And that same letter contains a barefaced warning that those invited must attend personally, and specifically highlights the fact that this was a programme organised for the benefit of APC Candidates?” Oboagwina demanded.
According to the Agbaje Media Director, it had become typical of the Lagos ruling party to infiltrate the ranks of INEC ad hoc electoral clerks and supervisors with card-carrying APC members.
It said Executive Secretaries in the 57 councils had been instructed to “deliver” their local governments at all costs.
In addition, he accused the APC of forcing civil servants and teachers in the state service to attend political meetings, in which rigging tactics were hatched.
“These are manifestations of old tricks, and we shall leave no stone unturned to puncture all such shenanigans,” Oboagwina said.
“Let Igbokwe deny that the APC Senatorial Candidate for Lagos West, Honourable Adeola Olamilekan Solomon (Alias ‘Yayi’), did not hold a forum televised on the newscast of the LTV and TVC last week, and to which hundreds of civil servants were compelled to attend,” Oboagwina said.
Also, the Agbaje Media Director asked Lagosians to “judge between the hard evidence available and Igbokwe’s bamboozling vituperation.”
“As has been his style since 2007, when he mounted the seat of political media relations, Igbokwe went personal, bizarre and licentious. In his typically hollow buffoonery and arrogance, a man who knows me very well and with whom I have sat on TV shows calls me ‘one Felix!’” the statement read. “In typical Igbokwe style, issues were ignored and the APC spokesman just vomited abusive and pedestrian words, like an agbo-jedijedi herbal medicine hawker.”
According to the scanned letter, dated 2nd February 2015 and issued by the Lagos Mainland Local Government Education Authority, teaching and non-teaching staff were expected to attend a programme organised by the local government for APC candidates in the council.
The letter bore the signature of the Education Secretary, Adetona Bisi Lawrence.
In full, the memo, titled SENSITISATION AND AWARENESS CREATION ON HITCH-FREE ELECTION 2015, read:
“The entire teaching and non-teaching staff, the Parents Forum, the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) and the children of Mainland Local Government Education Authority humbly invite you to the political awareness progamme which we organize in honour of our All Progressive Congress (APC) candidates under the jurisdiction of the above-named Local Government Area.
“Please, come along with the following people: Assistant Head Teacher, two teaching staff, two non-teaching staff, SBMC Chairman and Treasurer, PF Chairman and the Secretary.
“The programme is as follows:
“Venue: Lagos Mainland LGEA Secretariat/All Saints Primary School Premises
“Date: 10th February 2015
“Time: 12.00pm
“Your presence at the programme will be highly appreciated.
“Please, No representation.”
“APC: Change
“Mainland: Progress
“Lagos: Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko
“Nigeria: Unity and Progress.”
The Agbaje camp maintained that all these were nuggets of an overall grand scheme by APC to rig the April 11, 2015 governorship and other polls in the state.
The camp was responding to a reaction posted by the Lagos APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, who not only denied the rigging allegation, but poured abuses on the accusers.
“As usual, the APC spokesman went banal and off the hook in denying the obvious and the glaring,” read a statement today by Agbaje’s Director of Media and Publicity, FELIX OBOAGWINA. “But we have done our homework and we can substantiate what we allege with evidence.”
Agbaje’s Campaign Organisation advanced its case by providing a scanned letter, which it said was typical of written and verbal instructions and invitations issued to teachers and civil servants in the state.
“How do you explain a letter from an arm of a state government or local government bureaucracy chanting the APC slogan of, ‘APC! Change!’ And that same letter contains a barefaced warning that those invited must attend personally, and specifically highlights the fact that this was a programme organised for the benefit of APC Candidates?” Oboagwina demanded.
According to the Agbaje Media Director, it had become typical of the Lagos ruling party to infiltrate the ranks of INEC ad hoc electoral clerks and supervisors with card-carrying APC members.
It said Executive Secretaries in the 57 councils had been instructed to “deliver” their local governments at all costs.
In addition, he accused the APC of forcing civil servants and teachers in the state service to attend political meetings, in which rigging tactics were hatched.
“These are manifestations of old tricks, and we shall leave no stone unturned to puncture all such shenanigans,” Oboagwina said.
“Let Igbokwe deny that the APC Senatorial Candidate for Lagos West, Honourable Adeola Olamilekan Solomon (Alias ‘Yayi’), did not hold a forum televised on the newscast of the LTV and TVC last week, and to which hundreds of civil servants were compelled to attend,” Oboagwina said.
Also, the Agbaje Media Director asked Lagosians to “judge between the hard evidence available and Igbokwe’s bamboozling vituperation.”
“As has been his style since 2007, when he mounted the seat of political media relations, Igbokwe went personal, bizarre and licentious. In his typically hollow buffoonery and arrogance, a man who knows me very well and with whom I have sat on TV shows calls me ‘one Felix!’” the statement read. “In typical Igbokwe style, issues were ignored and the APC spokesman just vomited abusive and pedestrian words, like an agbo-jedijedi herbal medicine hawker.”
According to the scanned letter, dated 2nd February 2015 and issued by the Lagos Mainland Local Government Education Authority, teaching and non-teaching staff were expected to attend a programme organised by the local government for APC candidates in the council.
The letter bore the signature of the Education Secretary, Adetona Bisi Lawrence.
In full, the memo, titled SENSITISATION AND AWARENESS CREATION ON HITCH-FREE ELECTION 2015, read:
“The entire teaching and non-teaching staff, the Parents Forum, the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) and the children of Mainland Local Government Education Authority humbly invite you to the political awareness progamme which we organize in honour of our All Progressive Congress (APC) candidates under the jurisdiction of the above-named Local Government Area.
“Please, come along with the following people: Assistant Head Teacher, two teaching staff, two non-teaching staff, SBMC Chairman and Treasurer, PF Chairman and the Secretary.
“The programme is as follows:
“Venue: Lagos Mainland LGEA Secretariat/All Saints Primary School Premises
“Date: 10th February 2015
“Time: 12.00pm
“Your presence at the programme will be highly appreciated.
“Please, No representation.”
“APC: Change
“Mainland: Progress
“Lagos: Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko
“Nigeria: Unity and Progress.”
The Agbaje camp maintained that all these were nuggets of an overall grand scheme by APC to rig the April 11, 2015 governorship and other polls in the state.
