Secretary’s appearance at military probe unsettles PDP

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There is disquiet in Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over its expelled Secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko’s appearance before the army panel probing soldiers’ roles in the June 21, 2014 governorship poll.

Aluko is believed to have travelled to Kaduna, venue of the sitting of the panel, led by Maj.-Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, armed with what a source described as “very incontrovertible and incriminating evidence”.

At Tuesday’s sitting, Aluko was said to have chosen to testify in camera, following what the source described as the “sensitivity” of his evidence and the role his testimony could play in the outcome of the panel’s report.

Some military officers were in Ekiti during the election, including Capt Sagir Koli, who secretly recorded the voices of senior army officers and PDP chieftains perfecting strategies to “rig” the election.

Personalities whose voices were recorded included former Brigade Commander, Artillery Regiment, Akure Brig.-Gen Aliyu Momoh; Governor Ayo Fayose (the then PDP governorship candidate), Musiliu Obanikoro (then Minister of State for Defence), Iyiola Omisore (then Osun PDP governorship candidate) and Jelili Adesiyan (then Minister of Police Affairs).

Aluko was expelled in July by a disciplinary panel Fayose faction. His expulsion was recently confirmed by the PDP national leadership.

A party source told The Nation yesterday in Ado-Ekiti that Aluko’s appearance has been causing ripples and disquiet in the government and party circles.

The source revealed that although the Ayo Fayose-led administration and the Idowu Faleye-led PDP exco know that Aluko is aggrieved but they never expected him to “testify against the party from which he had benefited”.

The source said: “We are shocked to read in the papers that Aluko went to testify against our party and this has been causing anxiety in government and party circles.

“If anyone says he is not moved by TKO’s action, such a person is lying. This is because TKO knows a lot about what transpired before, during and after the election.

“He was privy to many meetings held on strategies and logistics used to win the election.

“Besides this, TKO has many documents detailing liaison with the Jonathan presidency, military and federal agencies, how senior security chiefs were bribed to favour Fayose.

“Things ought not to have degenerated if the situation was well-managed.

“There are better ways that disagreement and grievances could be resolved. But for a senior party chief to testify against his party shows that things have gone from bad to worse.

“Although we are all waiting for the outcome of the probe but we know that Aluko’s evidence won’t bode well for the party.”

The Ekiti PDP has faulted the claim of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman Olajide Awe that 36,000 soldiers were deployed for the election.

The party accused Awe and other APC chieftains, who appeared at the panel, of spewing “lies from the pit of hell”.

In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo, in Ado Ekiti, the PDP said: “How did the soldiers come in? Where were they camped? Where were they deployed?

“We are asking these questions because Ekiti is not a coastal state to say they came in through the seas.

“Ekiti has no rail lines to say hundreds of train coaches brought them in.

“ Awe must also provide the army formations from which the soldiers were brought to Ekiti.

“To the best of our knowledge, the few soldiers that came were from the Nigerian Army Brigade in nearby Ondo State and we are sure that the strength of that brigade is not up to 10,000 men.”

Source: The Nation