General Elections: Lai Mohammed Accuses Opposition Of Planning Widespread Violence
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The Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, has accused the opposition of mobilising armed bandits and Boko Haram insurgents to perpetrate massive acts of violence during the general elections.
Mr Mohammed made the allegation on Monday while briefing reporters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He claimed that the plan was to disrupt the polls in several states in the north-east, north-west, and north-central states of the country.
The minister insisted that having noticed their dwindling fortunes, the alleged plot by the opposition was to spread violence across the country to truncate the electoral process.
He claimed that this was intended to cause a constitutional crisis which he said would snowball into the establishment of an interim government.
Mr Mohammed further urged Nigerians to be vigilant and be ready to cast their votes come the elections.
He assured them that the Federal Government would take pre-emptive measures to ensure their safety before, during and after the elections.
The minister neither confirmed nor denied when asked if more security personnel would be deployed in the run up to the elections.
According to him, no country in the world reveals its intelligence gathering mechanism.
In a swift reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) denied the allegations through its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.
Mr Ologbondiyan, who also addressed a press conference at the Legacy House in the nation’s capital, said the claims by Mr Mohammed were false, ridiculous, and irresponsible.
He, however, thanked the minister for revealing what he described as the “nefarious plans” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the public.
More to follow…