The Peoples Democratic Party on Monday raised the alarm that the opposition All Progressives Congress may have open cloning / hacking centres in all the 36 states of the federation with the aim of compromising the 2015 general election.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the ruling party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, described as shocking, the discovery of the personnel of the Department of State Security (DSS) at the weekend concerning cloning of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by the APC in Lagos.
Metuh stated that “This discovery at the APC office in Lagos is a clear confirmation of our stand, and fears by well-meaning Nigerians of APC’s criminal desperation, lust for power, plot to cause confusion and truncate our democracy.
“Indeed, Nigerians now know on what strength the APC, a party that clearly lacks genuine followership among the citizens, has been boasting that they will emerge victorious in the 2015 general elections and threatening to form a parallel government if they lose.
“Since its formation, the APC has been accusing everyone including INEC and security agencies of working to rig the 2015 elections in favour of the PDP. Little did Nigerians realize that such were smokescreens designed to divert attention from their heinous and unpatriotic plots.
“We believe that the APC, in its desperate attempt to grab power by all means, has already established cloning and hacking centers in all the 36 states of the federation to actualize their dubious machination to subvert the will of the people.
“We insist that the cloning of INEC PVCs is criminal and strikes at the very heart of our electoral process. We share the fear of a majority of Nigerians that the APC may have already started cloning ballot papers and other election documents.
“It is in this regard that we call on all Nigerians and lovers of democracy across the world to note the desperation of the APC. Our citizens must therefore remain vigilant and resist any attempt by the APC to steal their mandate.
“We also call on security agencies to fully investigate this atrocious cloning and ensure that whoever is found culpable faces the full weight of the law.
“This development also places an additional burden on INEC, which must now work to prove that it is not complicit in this heinous crime against the Nigerian state and its people.
“Nigerians have made huge sacrifices for the democracy we enjoy today and we cannot afford to surrender it on the altar of blind ambition and narrow interest of the APC”.
