Fasehun, Gani Adams disagree over OPC monitoring elections

Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, says the group will send its members to every polling unit across the country to monitor Saturday’s presidential poll.

Fasehun said this in a telephone an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.

The OPC founder said the OPC would forestall violence at the polls and that there would be no conflict of interest between the OPC and the security agencies.

“We will monitor elections. We are going to man every polling booth in the land,” he said.

Asked if it would not be in conflict with the role of security agencies, he said, “There is no conflict.”

On how the OPC would react to a breakout of violence, he said, “We will not be part of violence and we will prevent violence.”

On the strength of his men to man all the polling units across the country, he said, “It seems you don’t know our population. The OPC has over six million members and we will have them in all the polling units across the country by the grace of God.”

But the National Coordinator of the OPC, Chief Gani Adams, said members of the OPC would not be stationed at polling units.

Adams said like every other Nigerian, members of the OPC would vote and return to their respective homes.

Adams, who led a protest last week Monday for the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the OPC would continue to support Jonathan.

He said, “No, the OPC is not ready to be part of any security arrangement on the Election Day. The security on Election Day is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies. The OPC will go to the polling booths to vote and make sure the votes are counted and after that, the party agents will sign and everybody will go home.

“There is a standing instruction that OPC members should not be used by any political party as thugs. Our support for Jonathan does not mean that we will be used as thugs. We are supporting Jonathan on the basis of exercising our franchise as citizens of Nigeria.”

Adams said the OPC would ensure that the elections were as peaceful as the protests it held on the streets of Lagos last Monday, saying members of the group were no longer violent.

“The OPC of 2002 is not the same as the OPC of 2015. We have on ground reformed and well coordinated members and several commands,” he said.