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| [FILE PHOTO] Bola Tinubu, former Lagos state governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, speaks at a party meeting in Abuja Febuary 17, 2015. To supporters Tinubu, a Yoruba Muslim, is a wily political operator with a passion for getting the job done and a knack for picking bright, committed technocrats to do it. To critics he is a ruthless godfather who doles out lucrative contracts to his friends’ firms, insists on installing his man in office and is capable of sending in street thugs if he fails to get his way. Picture taken Febuary 17, 2015. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde |
National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has denied claims that he is linked with a tech company, Act Technologies Limited, that allegedly rigged election in 2015.
A statement titled “Response to Allegations in Saharareporters” from the Tinubu Media Office claimed the story was an unfortunate and crude attempt to malign Tinubu’s name.
While denying the claim, the statement accused the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of starting the rumours of his involvement in the rigging scheme.
“Asiwaju has absolutely no relation to, or interest in, Act Technologies Limited. He had never even heard of the company until the PDP (and its cronies in the media) started this campaign of calumny a few days ago.
“Moreover, Asiwaju has never been involved in the supply of card readers, voter registration and accreditation frameworks or any other materials or services to INEC. Never.”
The allegation said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) went into partnership with Act in 2012 for the tech company to provide voter registration and accreditation, as well as election management technology.
The online newspaper quoted the report that “There is a very high probability that the card reader technology and accompanying biometric PVC card technology was severely compromised.”
It said: “There was strong evidence that key figures in APC had control of ACT Technologies during the period in which card readers and PVC cards were being produced, and had started paying out money through ACT Technologies to the companies producing the card readers and handling the Biometrics security one year before INEC paid any money to ACT.
In Tinubu’s rebuttal, he noted that the story was simply another effort “by those opposed to President Buhari and the APC to justify their plans to distort the elections by alleging that the APC government is illegitimate and was rigged into office.”
“If any political party was in control of INEC’s procurement practices in 2014/2015, it would have been the one in control of the federal government at that time. Asiwaju never asked for, nor did he receive, anything or any contract from Jonathan’s government.
“As incompetent as his administration was, even President Jonathan would not have sat idly by while important electoral contracts were being handed over to his most implacable political foe. As often happens with fiction concocted by amateurs, the application of a little common sense causes the entire story to fall apart.
“The report only makes sense as part of a concerted effort to attack Asiwaju. Why the PDP and their media boosters fear him so much, we leave for them to answer. But it is odd that they expend so much time and energy manufacturing falsehoods against someone whose name will not even appear on any ballot.
“The only problem being that the facts do not support their claims nor their rationale for cheating. These people are incurable. They do not rig because they were once victimized by rigging. They rig because rigging is not only in their blood, it is their blood.
“Such errant nonsense has no place in our national discourse.”
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A statement titled “Response to Allegations in Saharareporters” from the Tinubu Media Office claimed the story was an unfortunate and crude attempt to malign Tinubu’s name.
While denying the claim, the statement accused the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of starting the rumours of his involvement in the rigging scheme.
“Asiwaju has absolutely no relation to, or interest in, Act Technologies Limited. He had never even heard of the company until the PDP (and its cronies in the media) started this campaign of calumny a few days ago.
“Moreover, Asiwaju has never been involved in the supply of card readers, voter registration and accreditation frameworks or any other materials or services to INEC. Never.”
The allegation said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) went into partnership with Act in 2012 for the tech company to provide voter registration and accreditation, as well as election management technology.
The online newspaper quoted the report that “There is a very high probability that the card reader technology and accompanying biometric PVC card technology was severely compromised.”
It said: “There was strong evidence that key figures in APC had control of ACT Technologies during the period in which card readers and PVC cards were being produced, and had started paying out money through ACT Technologies to the companies producing the card readers and handling the Biometrics security one year before INEC paid any money to ACT.
In Tinubu’s rebuttal, he noted that the story was simply another effort “by those opposed to President Buhari and the APC to justify their plans to distort the elections by alleging that the APC government is illegitimate and was rigged into office.”
“If any political party was in control of INEC’s procurement practices in 2014/2015, it would have been the one in control of the federal government at that time. Asiwaju never asked for, nor did he receive, anything or any contract from Jonathan’s government.
“As incompetent as his administration was, even President Jonathan would not have sat idly by while important electoral contracts were being handed over to his most implacable political foe. As often happens with fiction concocted by amateurs, the application of a little common sense causes the entire story to fall apart.
“The report only makes sense as part of a concerted effort to attack Asiwaju. Why the PDP and their media boosters fear him so much, we leave for them to answer. But it is odd that they expend so much time and energy manufacturing falsehoods against someone whose name will not even appear on any ballot.
“The only problem being that the facts do not support their claims nor their rationale for cheating. These people are incurable. They do not rig because they were once victimized by rigging. They rig because rigging is not only in their blood, it is their blood.
“Such errant nonsense has no place in our national discourse.”
In this article: