Date: 2012-09-13

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State claimed yesterday that a proposed decamping of some people purported to be its members into the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) "is a phantom exercise meant to confuse the public".

The allegation is the latest in a series of face-off between the two parties as both struggle for voter's acceptance at the re-run election ordered for Offa Local Government Area.
The ACN, whose candidate, Prince Saheed Popoola, won the chairmanship ticket during the first election, has appealed the ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal which ordered the re-run.

On Tuesday, both parties had engaged in verbal war over the circulation of what the PDP described as false documents over the financial position of local government areas in the state.

But the ACN, which denied the allegation, claimed it needed not go to town with documents to fight the ruling party while insisting it will win the council election.

State chairman of the ACN, Mr. Kayode Olawepo, had said of the allegation: "Does anybody need to tell an unpaid worker to ask for his wage from those owing him/her? We urge the PDP to do the needful. We concede to the PDP the right to dream on regarding Offa LG.

We leave the public to judge who the desperados are between a party (ACN) that had thousands of ordinary residents, including students and market women, in Offa spontaneously protesting a ruling they deemed unjust and a party (PDP), for lack of local support in Offa, that bussed in scores of jobless outsiders from the state capital to go rally in favour of a ruling many kilometres away in Offa."

PDP claimed that the opposition party resorted to blackmail to mislead the people, particularly on the suspendedurbanisation law and local government workers outstanding salaries.

PDP Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Mas'ud Adebimpe, in a statement, said: "ACN Kwara State chapter, jolted and devastated by the local government election petitions tribunal ruling which nullified its victory in the last local government election in Offa, is now plotting to discredit the PDP ruling government by circulating false allegations that bother on probity."