The All Progressive Congress (APC) says it has information that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) is planning to deploy thugs and to rig the forthcoming Osun governorship election.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, on Wednesday in Abuja also accused the PDP of cloning Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) for use in the election.

“The PDP on Tuesday vowed to deploy all means, schemes, shenanigans in all ramification and magnitude to rig all coming elections, starting from the Osun governorship election.

“The party also directed all its presidential aspirants to move all their political machinery into Osun State within this period.

“When the APC learnt of the shocking disclosures, we initially doubted its veracity and dismissed it as one of the fake news in circulation,” Nabena said in a statement.

It stressed that the PDP’s statement on Tuesday was particularly worrisome because it coincided with the situation field report the APC received on its plans for the Osun governorship election.

It added that the PDP’s new public rigging plans was a red flag that required urgent probe by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and relevant security agencies.

The statement called on well-meaning Nigerians and civil society organisations to speak out and resist the PDP’s retrogressive plan which threatened the country’s democracy.

It reminded the PDP that the country’s democracy was maturing, and that its crude election rigging methods such as ballot box snatching displayed during last weekend by-election in Kogi was no longer accepted in elections.

It, however, expressed confidence that the people of Osun would resist the PDP’s deployment to take-over the state by force.

“The people’s will, the people’s vote is supreme, it must be respected and defended, that is democratic, progressive and the right thing, “the statement said.

It further reminded the PDP of the new realities that the old Nigeria was slowly but surely disappearing and a new era was rising as captured by President Muhammadu Buhari.

It added that unlike undemocratic practices under past administrations, elections under the APC administration were increasingly freer and fairer.

The statement said this was a very significant feat in APC’s march for lasting and representative democracy.

The Osun governorship election is slated for Sept. 22.