The Osun State chapter of the Accord Party has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of allegedly importing and harbouring election result hackers at a hotel in Osogbo ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The party called on security agencies to investigate the allegation and apprehend anyone found to be involved in the alleged operation.
The accusation was contained in a statement issued in Osogbo on Saturday and signed by the state Chairman of the Accord Party, Victor Akande.
Accord alleged that credible information indicated that the suspected hackers had been brought into the state to compromise the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) digital system and manipulate election results.
The party claimed that the individuals were brought from Lagos and Abuja and had established an operational centre at a hotel in Osogbo.
Accord said, “The hackers were brought in from Lagos and Abuja and they have set up an operational centre at the hotel. Their target is to compromise the INEC electronic system to impute fake election results into the INEC server.”
The party urged INEC to strengthen its digital infrastructure and cybersecurity measures ahead of the election.
It also called on security agencies to raid the alleged operational centre and other locations where similar activities might be taking place.
“We also call on security agencies to raid the GMT Hotel and other illegal centres to stop the ongoing anti-democracy activities,” the party stated.
Accord further urged the electoral commission to review its digital security arrangements, warning that any attempt to hack or manipulate the election results would be resisted.
However, the APC dismissed the allegation as false and baseless, insisting that it had no reason to engage in electoral malpractice.
The party’s spokesperson in Osun State, Kola Olabisi, said the APC was confident of victory and would not need to rig the election to defeat its opponents.
“The allegation that our party is harbouring hackers in a particular hotel in Osogbo is false without any foundation, and there is no basis for that,” Olabisi said.
He described the allegation as an attempt to damage the reputation of the APC, adding that it was motivated by the Accord Party’s alleged fear of losing the election.
“Our party does not need to rig any election before our candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, wins the election,” he stated.
Olabisi challenged Accord to report the allegation to the police if it had evidence that the APC was harbouring hackers.
“If they are sure that we are harbouring any hacker, the right place for the Accord Party to go is the police,” he said.
Fourteen political parties have been cleared by INEC to participate in the August 15 governorship election.
However, the Accord Party, which is fielding incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, and the APC, whose candidate is former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Bola Oyebamiji, are regarded as the leading contenders ahead of the poll.
