Troops of the32 Artillery Brigade Akure, Thursday intercepted a truck conveying election materials at a checkpoint at Itawure Junction near Efon-Alaye in Ekiti State.
Consequently, three men on board the Mercedes Benz truck marked Lagos APP 952 XL- Olufemi Ose, Segun Akanbi and Biodun Erinfolami have been arrested.
On the truck which has the inscription ‘Adewole F Odunayo Enterprises’, were election materials such as ballot papers, rubber stamps, ink pads and reflective jackets bearing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, while the ballot papers bore 2007 election and 2009 rerun governorship election, the rubber stamps and ink pads bore 2014.
Addressing newsmen, the Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Aliyu Momoh, said troops could not get satisfactory answers from the men when asked series of questions about the materials they were carrying.
While calling on political parties not to cause trouble ahead of the June 21 governorship election, Gen. Momoh said, “We are not here to intimidate or harass anybody, but we want to sound a note of warning that whoever thinks he can cause trouble will be dealt with severely.
“You only need to have your voter card and use your thumb to print the appropriate area on the ballot paper, whoever goes to the voting unit with any offensive weapon would be brought down.”
Speaking on the discovery, Ekiti State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Halilu Pai, said ballot papers were waste items.
He explained further, “Those materials are what we call waste papers that have been auctioned to people. The materials were approved for the firm to cart away for us to prepare for the coming election. The company has the approval of the national headquarters of INEC.”
Pai, was however surprised that rubber stamps and ink pads for the 2014 poll were also found on the truck, denying compromise on the part of INEC.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the State, Ayo Fayose, has fingered the All Progressives Party (APC) in the fake ballot papers saga, calling for thorough investigation.
A release issued by the Director General of the Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation (AFCO), Dipo Anisulowo, the governorship candidate said; “It is curious that two commissioners in the State swiftly rushed to where the truck was arrested to intervene and get it freed with the occupants.”
Fayose, who commended the soldiers for refusing the overtures of the two State Commissioners, demanded that; “There must be no cover-up of this heinous crime.
“Since the vehicle is marked, the public must know who is the owner of Adewole F. Odunayo Enterprises is, those behind the production of the ballot papers, their possible collaborators in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the purpose for which the ballot papers were produced.
“We are also interested in the motive behind the visit to the scene of arrest by two state commissioners, and the reasons the State Deputy Governor, Prof Modupe Adelabu rushed to the Army Base, where the fake ballot papers in the truck were being off-loaded.
“Most importantly, we urge our party members and supporters to remain vigilant, because at it is, the APC has seen that it can only win the election through manipulations, having been rejected by the people.”
In the same vein, Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation has also called for investigation. In a statement by the spokesperson, Dimeji Daniels, the organisation said though INEC claims they were waste which auction was sanctioned by its national headquarters, it remained curious that 2014 stamps were found among the materials.
“APC does not have the culture of rigging. We know many plans are being put in motion and hatched by the opposition to rig this election because the opposition knows it is not popular and not on ground at all. This is why no stone should be left unturned in preventing agents of retrogression from taking Ekiti back 100 years”, he said.
