The Ekiti chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has been accused of allegedly asking civil servants in the state to submit their Bank Verification Numbers in order to induce voters ahead of the governorship election.
The Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SDP governorship candidate, Segun Oni Media Advisory Council, Moses Jolayemi, in a statement described the motive as “ulterior and suspicious in the wake of an election month”.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that the Ekiti State gubernatorial election will take place on June 18, 2022 across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.
Jolayemi said, “We have it on a good note that the APC-led government of Dr Kayode Fayemi has instructed civil servants in the State to provide their personal accounts details.
“We wager a bet that there is something sinister and clandestine about this move. Why would a government insist that people have to give their BVN details if it is not to either induce the voting population of the civil service or blackmail them to do their biddings during the election?
Speaking further, Jolayemi noted that they have evidence of the allegation that the government was going around the state trying to mop up voters’ cards and the “trick of collecting the BVN details may be another desperate attempt to ensure they arm-twist and hijack a process that should be fair”.
He noted that the APC-led government is doing everything possible to ensure that underhand tactics are employed “before, during and after the election”
“It is no longer news in Ekiti that these are desperate times for a party that is on its way out. They are not popular and they have resorted to threats, blackmail, coercion, cajoling and vindinctiveness to ensure they cling to power.
“This is quite unfortunate and we are alerting members of the public that they should expect the unusual in these end times of the APC in the State.
“The workers are themselves begging us to protect them from the intimidation, harassment and brigandage of these political leeches that are desperate to clutch to power even though the people have rejected them.”