Former minister of Information and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart in Nasarawa State, Mr. Labaran Maku, has raised the alarm over fake result sheets being used in the conduct of the governorship and state assembly elections in the state.
According to Maku, INEC officials may have connived with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the election by deploying untoward means.
He noted that reports from the various polling units indicated that duplicate result sheets deployed for the exercise were not genuine, adding that the complaints were widespread across the state.
He said in Akwanga and Lafia local government areas, the result sheets issued to the returning officers by INEC were duplicates, noting that because of the anomaly there were protests in some polling units in the affected areas.
He expressed fear that the development could create crisis that may led to major breach of peace if the electorate discovered that they were been deliberately disenfranchised.
He called on INEC and the security agencies to look into the complaints with a view to remedying the situation.
He said the opposition parties were concerned about the development because of an earlier rumours that the returning officers would be intercepted on their way to the coalition centres and forced to sign prepared result sheets and announce same.
He accused the APC of “working hard to rig the election as it has done in the past”, while calling on the electorates to ensure that their votes count.”
“We are calling INEC to ensure that there’s due process and election conducted in atmosphere that conform with what amount to credibility in election around the world.
“We are vigilant, we are moving around; we hope this election will change the story of rigged elections in Nasarawa State in the past. No election since 2003 was free and fair, but rigged and fake result announced. That’s why there will be need to be vigilant this time around,” he explained.
