The All Progressives Congresss has said that it has no plan to rig the next general elections with N6.5 trillion, adding that the reports are “sleazy propaganda” of the Peoples Democratic Party.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said a leaked document which escalated the rigging rumour by the APC was a figment of the opposition’s imagination.
The document contained alleged plans by the APC to spend almost half of Nigeria’s 2022 budget on vote-buying and bribing security agents at polling units, judiciary and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
But Morka said, “The attention of the All Progressives Congress has been drawn to a document in circulation described as “leaked APC 2023 Election Document.
“Mischievously, the document alleged that our party has voted a whopping N6.5 trillion to fund schemes aimed at swaying the Nigerian electorate to support and vote for the party and its presidential candidate in 2023. Ridiculously, too, the document alleged that obscene amounts of money have been voted for outright vote-buying; compromising INEC staff; security operatives; judicial officers and other officials.
“The APC wishes to place firmly on record that the document is not of the party. We neither authored nor own any such document, and it certainly did not emanate from our party.
“Indubitably, the document is the handiwork of very sick elements of the opposition PDP in a desperate quest for unmerited electoral advantage by attempting to smear our party with wrongdoing.”
“How in the world does a government operating a national budget of N17 trillion dole out N6.5 trillion to rig elections? Our party is focused on delivering the dividends of democracy to Nigerians in hope that they will reciprocate by supporting and voting for our candidates come 2023 elections.
“We are a law-abiding party and have no need to engage in any fraud and electoral malpractice suggested in that worthless document. Only a party that is a masterful looter of the national treasury such as the PDP can even imagine another capable of engaging in the kinds of atrocious acts the document suggests.
“We urge Nigerians to disregard the document as sleazy propaganda for which the PDP has gained notoriety. The APC remains committed to building an innovative system of free and credible elections as witnessed in the recently concluded Governorship elections in Ekiti State,” he stated.