Governor Yahaha Bello, APC candidate and Engineer Musa Wada, PDP flagbearer

Richard Elesho/ Lokoja

It is barely three days to the 16 November Governorship Elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States. In Kogi, each of the dominant parties namely the All Progressives Congress, APC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the Social Democratic Party, SDP have intensified their campaigns with accusations and counter accusations of Bellow the belt tactics levelled against the opposition. Although the volley of allegations are generally of criminal nature, they may sometimes border on triviality, absurdity and the ridiculous.

Natasha Akpoti: SDP Candidate

Almost on a daily basis parties release fresh allegations of electoral violence, connivance to rig and plots to arrest innocent members framed up for crime against each other. Indeed, there have been series of sporadic gunshots, arrests and destruction of campaign materials  across the state. In fact, a party Secretariat has been bournt down and many campaign vehicles  vandalized in the otherwise peaceful state. Mutual suspicion is now the new name of the game. A quick check:

Last Saturday the SDP, raised the alarm of a plot to assassinate  it’s candidate, Barrister Natasha Akpoti who had just been given clean bill of health to join the poll. The party accused Governor Yahaya Bello of the APC who iincidentally is a fellow Anebira from the same Central Senatorial District with Natasha of hatching the plot. Curiously, the party have suffered some attacks since raising the alarm.

Monday November 11th, the day the SDP office was set on fire, the APC issued a public notice. The party through Kingsley Fanwo, Chairman of it’s Media and Publicity Committee, said it had received intelligence that members of PDP and SDP were making arrangements to cause widespread violence and distruption of the electoral process in the name of the APC. The statement reads in part:

“This is to notify security agencies and members of the public that the APC Governorship Campaign Council is in possession of an intelligence report to the effect that the Social Democratic Party and the People’s Democratic Party have perfected plans to produce fez caps and jackets with the inscription of GYB and APC; which they will distribute to hoodlums and mercenaries imported from neighboring states.

“The hoodlums have been instructed by the SDP and the PDP to invade Polling Units and cause mayhem during the Governorship election to give the Governor a bad name and to harp on that at the tribunal since they already know the Governor will win the election going by the massive acceptance by the people.

Fanwo urged security agencies to enhance security at the Polling Units to protect the franchise of the Kogi people adding that “election is not war but an expression of the right of the Kogi people to elect their leader.”

The following day, Tuesday 12th November, it was the turn of the PDP to fire its missile. The party in a statement from its Media team alleged that the APC is plotting to send women of easy virtues after its members and leaders.

According to the statement the call girls armed with guns and other

incriminating materials will ostensibly lure the men to bed during which security agents will raid the environment and effect arrests for gun running. The party warned members to be conscious of the new strategy and avoid indicent escapades with such women. The statement reads:

“This is to inform all our esteemed leaders, members and supporters across the state to watchout and be weary of the APC latest strategy and crude plot to indirectly implicate and nail PDP members.

“Reliable information has it that APC leaders have concluded arrangements with some street YOUNG FEMALE hawkers and hutchings that will be in circulation and deployed to various locations and communities on pretence as if they are out to look for man-friend or boy friend who will date them.

“It will interest you all to know that those assigned ladies and girls will be out anytime from now, well dressed and pretend to be ready for love affairs, walk up to people at selected hotels, joints or relaxation places on implicative assignment.

“Some will also visit hotels on directive to woo men, APC have also distributed locally made guns and pistol to them which will be in their hand bags, upon approaching them, they will quickly fall for you based on target and agree to sleep with you in either your hotel room or house, in the process, they will now contact their sponsors after which they must have dropped their guns in a corner of the room, compound or within.

“Importantly, police and SARS officers will invade such hotel, or house and search to towards the location where of the gun is kept. By this, we all know the implication.

The party said the information is classified and urged all members to refrain from emergency and pretentious implicative sexual hawkers who are out to implicate PDP members.

As the hours draw close to voting time, no one knows what issues will form the next line of attack. For now, the Kogi people are eagerly waiting to exercise their franchise.