By Aminu Garko
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, has condemned the threat by the Edo Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Jarrett Tenebe, to deploy AK-47 rifles against anyone who attempts to deny the party the 2.5 million votes it promised President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
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The ADC PCC also condemned the reported attack on its members and destruction of vehicles belonging to party supporters at Gegu in Koton Karfi Local Government Area of Kogi.
The council described the alleged threat and the Kogi incident as acts of intimidation and political violence capable of undermining the 2027 general elections.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated this in a statement issued on Sunday.
Ologbondiyan said Tenebe’s alleged plot was “inciting” and “terroristic,” arguing that it amounted to an attempt to intimidate voters and create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the council had waited for the APC leadership and President Tinubu to condemn or demand a retraction of the 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.
“This is terrorism, and not politics. This is the height of desperation by a party that has failed Nigerians woefully,” Ologbondiyan said.
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He further alleged that since President Tinubu’s reported statement that “all is fair in politics,” some APC members had increasingly resorted to intimidation, harassment and violations of the law.
Ologbondiyan argued that the APC could not legitimately secure 2.5 million votes in Edo through a free, fair and credible electoral process, describing Edo voters as politically sophisticated and increasingly dissatisfied with what he called hardship and insecurity under the APC administration.
He said the threat to use AK-47 rifles against voters was a violation of the Electoral Act and the Constitution and should be investigated by the relevant authorities.
According to him, the alleged statement had further reinforced concerns that the APC might resort to violence and intimidation in its bid to retain power in 2027.
The ADC PCC therefore called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to invite Tenebe for questioning over the alleged threat.
The council also appealed to the international community, including the United Nations, European Union, African Union, ECOWAS, the United States and other democratic countries, to monitor developments ahead of the 2027 elections and prevail on the Federal Government and the 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 no amount of intimidation or threats would stop Nigerians from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
On the reported attack on ADC members in Gegu, Koton Karfi Local Government Area of Kogi, the ADC PCC urged security agencies to identify and prosecute those responsible.
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“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,” Ologbondiyan said.
He urged security agencies to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure that those foundculpable were brought to justice.