The Kwara State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have again accused each other of plans to doctor electoral materials used in the April polls.

In the past two weeks, the ACN has been accusing the PDP of attempting to alter the polls’ materials to prevent its governorship candidate, Dele Belgore, from carrying out detailed inspection, copying and making forensic examination of the materials as ordered by the tribunal.

But PDP’s new chairman Ishola Balogun-Fulani told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, that the materials were in the custody of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), adding that the party could not have doctored them because, like ACN, it obtained the tribunal’s order to inspect and copy them.

He said PDP secured additional prayers that it should be present any time ACN was inspecting the materials, a relief he added the ACN did not obtain.

According to him, it is ACN that can doctor the materials to prevent PDP from inspecting and copying the materials.

Balogun-Fulani accused ACN of intentionally making the allegations to create the impression that it has a serious issue to tackle with PDP at the tribunal.

But in a statement yesterday, ACN, through its Chairman, Kayode Olawepo, said: "Our party has made it abundantly clear what the intentions of the PDP are and what they are doing to frustrate our case, having discovered that they stole the mandate in a hurry and that their tracks remain embarrassingly open for the world to see.

"It is interesting that PDP, as usual, merely stopped at refuting allegations without stating its own side of the stories. This is a sure way to know rabblerousers. To quote a former Ghanaian opposition spokesman: ‘Figures don’t lie; it is the liars that will be figured out’.

"We watch while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) does its job on the true position of how the Bukola Saraki administration squandered public fund throughout his eight years’ tenancy at Kwara Government House. We hope he will make himself available or else..."

"As regards the question of who won or lost the election, the rising profile of ACN in Kwara, especially our governorship candidate Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), is enough response for the clueless PDP.

"It is instructive to note that the so-called achievements of the PDP-led government are now being measured by the number of the impoverished people who died at their campaign office wanting to collect handouts and the army of unemployed youths who now act as PDP touts in our dear state."

It added: "We have read with huge amusement the lightweight and rather wispy reactions of the PDP to our fact-based challenge on the score-card of the last administration, especially our posers on the cost of the projects commissioned recently.

"Again, we laugh it off as the usual ranting of a political party which thrives on corruption and official grandstanding, especially that the PDP-led government has failed to publish the cost of the projects in question.

"Worst still, most of the projects so executed have no direct benefits whatsoever to our people. We dare say that there is no evidence of cost-benefit analysis of most of the projects. For instance, what is the importance of Metropolitan Square to the suffering people of Kwara who have no access to basic amenities like water or healthcare services? What is the importance of the Aviation College, where up to N7million tuition fee will be paid, to an average Kwaran who is managing to feed once a day and cannot afford to send his wards to a mere secondary school?"