Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has denied that the party was planning to shorten the 2023 elections by putting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Keyamo called the APC’s assertions of a shortened election in 2023 “unfounded and dishonest.”
His call comes as Nigeria’s opposition political parties, united under the banner of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), allege a scheme to derail the 2023 polls.
Ikenga Ugochinyere, CUPP’s spokesman, accused APC governors of plotting a leadership transition that would pave the way for their objectives.
During the 2023 general elections, Ugochinyere said there was a scheme to halt electronic transmission of election results and remove the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) from the INEC server.
In addition, he alleged that INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu and other National Commissioners were under pressure to remove the BVAS from the server.
Keyamo responded by dismissing such charges when speaking to press in Abuja.
According to Keyamo: “There has been absolutely no occasion, where the APC, either through NWC or any of levels of leadership, put any kind of pressure on INEC.
“Those sensing defeat are already looking for reasons for that defeat. It is one of the reasons, it is one of the excuses they are trying to generate to accommodate their defeat, but they should know that the defeat is imminent.”
