PDP to INEC: Let IPAC Verify Custody of BIVAS in C’River

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

The Cross River State Chapter of Peoples  Democratic Party (PDP), has  asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reassure the public that some of its BIVAS machines meant for the conduct of the 2023 elections were not taken to government house in Calabar.

The Cross River State Governorship Candidate of the PDP, Professor Sandy Onor, made the call in Calabar against a backdrops of complaints by the Inter-Political Parties Advisory Council (IPAC), that the INEC kept them at bay when the electoral body and security agencies allegedly verified the integrity and custody of the BIVAS machines sent to the state for the conduct of the 2023 polls.

Addressing journalists in Calabar at the weekend, Onor said that the party was worried by such allegations because the entire processes leading to the elections and the main elections can be compromised if some of the BIVAS machines were kept in Government House.

He demanded that INEC should allow the IPAC to inspect the BIVAS machines in order to clear fears that some of the electronic devises were, at the moment, not in the custody of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led state government.

He said: “We all are aware of reports indicating that the state government has some BIVAS machines in its possession. The INEC has denied any connivance as its machines have not left their place of custody.

“Our worry is that in a recent press release, the IPAC had maintained that it was not carried along when INEC and the security forces in the state moved in to confirm that no BIVAS machine was tempered with.

“In fact, IPAC insists that for some inexplicable reasons they were stopped from participating in that verification exercise. We cannot but be worried. We, therefore, call on the INEC and the security agencies to allow IPAC to certify the authenticity of their pronouncement on the BIVAS.

“This is critically important because confidence building is critical in election management, prior to, during and after the elections.”

Onor also admonished the security agencies to exercise neutrality in the buildups to elections by ensuring it is not used as a tool in the persecution of the opposition in the state.

He mentioned the alleged persecution of one of their candidates for the National Assembly in the northern part of the state and admonished the police and the DSS to be apolitical so as to avoid the breakdown of law and order.

He said: “One of us, Mr. Peter Akpanke, the PDP candidate for the Obudu/Bekwara/Obanliku Federal Constituency election, is already being hounded by Ayade, with the tacit support of the police and the judiciary, with a mischievous bench warrant, over a murder charge that Akpanke knows nothing about.

“In fact, Akpanke had gone the extra mile to get the police to apprehend the suspect who killed the policeman in question and the suspect has since willingly confessed to the crime. Yet, Ayade is still doing everything to force the police to harass our candidate because defeat now stares him in the face.

“In times like this, the police and the DSS should live up to their professional calling and maintain their non-partisanship avowal, and do justice to this matter to avoid a breakdown of law and order. The police know the truth and should not allow themselves to be misled by Ayade.” 

Apparently pointing fingers at the Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, for being behind the travails of the PDP House of Representatives candidate, Onor said that “rather than chase shadows, Ayade should take deliberate efforts to restitute for his sins against the people of Cross River State for about eight years now. He still has a few more months to do this. I urge him to get into his closet and do some self-examination before the end of his disastrous tenure.”