CUPP Accuses CBN of Working for APC, Says Its Vaults Now Cash Warehouse for Party’s Chieftains …Alleges APC planning to jam broadcast equipment of AIT, STV, Arise others

 

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) on Thursday alleged that it was in possession of credible evidence that the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been turned into All Progressives Congress (APC) warehouse where illicit funds for vote buying have been warehoused and moved to local banks and houses of party chieftains.

The coalition also claimed that it reliably gathered that agents of the federal government had concluded plans to clamp down on media houses and their reporters on election day.

In a statement issued by CUPP spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, the coalition stated that the leadership of the CBN had directed all bank managers in all 36 states of the federation to mop up cash available effective from February 13.

According to him, "CBN is working for the outgoing APC government and has given directives that the money mopped up should be issued only to APC chieftains, and the reason for this is for the money to be released for vote-buying on election day by the members of the APC who clearly intend to bribe the citizens by offering them money for their unfit candidate."

The opposition parties said they have it on good authority that the members of the APC are allegedly working with some security agents to engage in massive arm theft and destruction of electoral materials on February 16, using firearms and explosives.

“The unethical security agents,” they alleged, “had been instructed by the

APC cohorts to cart away in bags, electoral materials and subsequently burn the materials especially in Kwara, Rivers, Kano, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto, and Zamfara States.

"They want to use explosives and armed security forces (SARS) to burn down election materials, kidnap all returning officers and hijack all election materials as well as steal card readers to shift election or make election inconclusive, write fake results and weaken opposition base in Rivers State, Kwara Central, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto, Kano, Adamawa, Abia and 10 other states."

The coalition lamented that the APC government is on rampage already, allegedly burning down INEC storage facilities in states which they know they will clearly lose.

"They did it in Anambra State on Tuesday and they are aiming to do more in Rivers, Kwara and Adamawa States. The three major reasons why they want to do this is to weaken the opposition's strength in those states, to make elections in the affected areas inconclusive so as to impose their unscrupulous security agents on opposition leaders in order for the election to be shifted for a rerun and to rig it like they did in Osun and Ekiti States.

"From the APC campaigns, it's clear that the president has time and time again embarrassed the party and shown that he's going to lose in a free and fair contest to the coalition's consensus candidate, Atiku Abubakar,” he said.

CUPP therefore appealed to the United States of America and United Kingdom to take notes of the instigators of violence and continue to fulfill their promise of visa ban punishment for the perpetrators, which according to it, will also serve as a warning to their already recruited supporters and potential recruits.

"We call on the security agents working with APC government to remember the promise they made when they took an oath to serve and protect the lives of citizens and their properties, and desist from further causing any damage and harm to innocent citizens or disrupting the polls,” the group said.

Meanwhile, CUPP has revealed that it reliably gathered that agents of the federal government had concluded plans to clamp down on media houses and their reporters on Saturday.

In a statement, CUPP claimed that the nefarious act was being orchestrated to ensure that the media houses do not have the opportunity of informing Nigerians on the various irregularities being allegedly planned for the presidential and National Assembly elections in favour of candidates of the APC across the country.

Top of the list of media organisations listed for attack, CUPP alleged, are the Africa Independent Television (AIT), Silverbird Television, Arise Television, Raypower FM and 15 other radio stations.

"The plan is to jam and destroy transmitting equipment of these media

organisations on election day. The strategy also include indiscriminate arrest and detention of reporters and cameramen of these stations while their working tools will be confiscated and

destroyed.

"The opposition parties have credible information on the move by the

APC working through the NSA and the elder brother of Governor El Rufai named Bashir El Rufai who is the Director of IHS Towers, a major base station services provider for telecom companies to disconnect the service providers in targeted areas under the guise of debt recovery for unpaid services rendered to the telecommunication companies,” CUPP alleged.