Police and PDP deny the APC allegation
The Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the police and the state government led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plotting to suppress the opposition during the general elections in the state.
The acting chairman of the party in the state, Tajudeen Lawal, made the allegation in a statement he issued in Osogbo on Sunday.
He said the police want to carry out a "massive transfer" of divisional police officers across the state so as to put in position officers loyal to the state government for the purpose of manipulating the elections.
"Our intelligence indicates that the idea behind the concluded plan to orchestrate the massive transfer of the DPOs is to give room for some pliable and compromised police officers who could accede to any illegal order of arrest of any member of the opposition," he claimed.
The party chairman also said the transfer of the DPOs will begin on Monday.
"Barring any change of plans, it was learnt that the massive transfer of the DPOs would be kick-started tomorrow (Monday) while the new compromised ones have pledged their loyalty for readiness to act according to any directive from either the governor or the leadership of the PDP in the state," he added.
"We have the privileged information that the DPOs are to be transferred massively in order to give way to compromised ones who would always be ready to carry out any illegal orders of Governor Ademola and the PDP."
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He, therefore, appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, to summon the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Patrick Longe, over the allegations.
"We are appealing to the IGP to call the Osun CP to order. We are equally appealing to the other sister security agencies in the state to discharge their statutory duties with neutrality and desist from any assignment capable of impugning the image of their outfits."
However, the caretaker chairman of the PDP in Osun, Adekunle Akindele, has dismissed the allegations as "baseless".
"Ever since the APC lost the July election, the party has grown paranoid and regularly engages in the manufacturing and distribution of fake news," he said.
"The opposition sinks deeper into despair and confusion, leading it to churning out illogical lies and confusing postulations. What has PDP got to do with police redeployment? Or is APC afraid its secret rigging machines are about to be dismantled?," the chairman asked.
"Our message to APC and its fake news manufacturing operatives is that Osun people are wiser. The APC was voted out of power in Osun state because it lost any element of credibility due to its elevation of propaganda as the main tool of state governance. Stop blackmail as defeat awaits your candidates in forthcoming elections."
Yemisi Opalola, the police spokesperson in the state, also told our reporter that the allegation is false.
"It is not true, there is nothing like that, there is nothing like that," Mrs Opalola stated.
