By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADC PCC, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of threatening Nigerians with violence ahead of the 2027 presidential election over an alleged AK-47 threat by the party’s Edo State chairman, Jarrett Tenebe.
The council said the alleged threat, coupled with a reported attack on ADC members and destruction of their vehicles in Gegu, Koton Karfi Local Government Area of Kogi State, showed the need for urgent action to prevent intimidation and violence ahead of the election.
In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday, the ADC PCC demanded that the police, Department of State Services, DSS, and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, investigate Tenebe over the alleged threat.
Ologbondiyan said the council had waited for the APC leadership and President Bola Tinubu to condemn or demand a retraction of the alleged statement but received no such response.
“We are shocked that a state chairman of a ruling party, Mr. Jarrett Tenebe, can stand before the public and threaten Nigerians with AK-47 rifles if they refuse to vote for his party, the APC,” he said.
He urged the Inspector-General of Police, the DSS Director-General and INEC to invite Tenebe for questioning, arguing that the alleged threat violated the Electoral Act and the Constitution.
Ologbondiyan also challenged the APC’s claim of securing 2.5 million votes in Edo State for Tinubu in 2027, saying such a figure could not be achieved through a free, fair and credible election.
He attributed the alleged threat to growing political desperation within the ruling party, citing what he described as increasing hardship, insecurity and dissatisfaction among Edo voters.
According to him, the alleged statement had reinforced concerns that the APC might resort to violence and intimidation in its bid to retain power in 2027.
The ADC PCC also appealed to the United Nations, European Union, African Union, ECOWAS, United States and other democratic countries to monitor developments ahead of the election and prevail on the Federal Government and APC to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process.
Ologbondiyan said the 2027 election would be ‘a referendum’ on the performance of the APC-led administration, insisting that intimidation would not stop Nigerians from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
The council also called for investigation into the reported attack on ADC members and destruction of vehicles belonging to supporters in Gegu, Koton Karfi.
“We call on the members of our Kogi State chapter, particularly in Koton Karfi Local Government, to name everyone they identified in the course of the needless attack,” he said.
Ologbondiyan urged security agencies to thoroughly investigate the incident and prosecute anyone found culpable.
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