The Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State has accused the All Progressives Congress of deploying thugs in two branded Sienna buses into Edo from Kogi State to intimidate the electorate and cause mayhem.

The state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chris Nehikhare, who spoke on behalf of the party’s campaign council, said intelligence gathered by the party revealed that stuffed with arms and ammunition.

Nehikhare made the allegation in a statement on Saturday, tagged, “PDP alerts police, DSS on APC’s deployment of two Sienna buses from Kogi to cause mayhem, intimidate electorate in Edo.”

He called on the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Department of State Services to track the movement of the buses and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to book.

He said, “The buses are loaded with arms and ammunition. They were given mandates to intimidate the electorate and cause mayhem.

“We have always maintained that the APC has nothing to campaign with and has only one face-saving strategy: to intimidate voters. This is all they plan to do in this election and we have seen this manifest in a number of times as they have unleashed mayhem on innocent Edo people.”

He noted that the state government was committed to ensuring a free and peaceful election, while working with the relevant security agencies to protect lives and property of residents in the state.

PDP trying to divert attention from important issues, says APC

But the state APC chapter has said the PDP should quit hallucinating and concentrate on campaigning.

According to the APC, only an issue-based campaign, which helps the Edo electorate to clearly make their choice on September 19, will help everyone now, not wild rumours.

The Chairman of the APC Campaign Council, Mr. John Maiyaki, said, “The latest falsehood from the hallucinating PDP is about a branded van, loaded with arms, from Kogi State.  Let the DSS go ahead and probe this latest allegation.  But take it from us:  it’s another ploy to divert attention from the real thing: the PDP is scared of a bad beating at the poll on September 19; and it tries to divert the people’s attention.

Mayaki said the Edo APC was too busy taking its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s SIMPLE agenda to a receptive and rapturous Edo people that it had no time for games.

“All I know is that we’re too busy selling our resonating message of hope to have time for any illegal or illicit activity.  Let the PDP campaign as we are doing and get serious.  Maybe then, they would have less time for old wives’ tales.  After all, an idle mind, they say, is a devil’s workshop,” he added.