The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised alarm over what it described as a plot by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), allegedly involving a federal minister from Zamfara State, to deploy heavy military presence in the forthcoming re-run election in Kaura Namoda South Constituency, Zamfara State.
The alarm was raised by Debo Ologunagba, the party’s national publicity secretary during a press conference on Wednesday.
According to the party, the APC is colluding with security agencies to intimidate voters and subvert the will of the people in the bye-election, which was initially held on August 16, 2025.
The PDP said the earlier poll was marred by widespread intimidation, harassment of voters, and ballot box snatching allegedly carried out by armed security personnel. It maintained that despite securing majority votes, the election was controversially declared “inconclusive” in five polling units across Sakajiki and Kyambarawa wards.
The PDP alleged that ahead of the re-run scheduled for Thursday, August 21, the APC is mobilising “full battalions of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Mobile Police Force, and the Directorate of State Services (DSS)” to the affected polling units. The opposition party described the move as a deliberate attempt to instil fear in voters and manipulate the outcome.
“The aim of this nefarious deployment is to foist a siege mentality on the people of the constituency, intimidate, terrorise and prevent them from coming out to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote,” Ologunagba stated.
The party further alleged that the APC plans to use security operatives not only to suppress voters but also to bully officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and “manufacture results” in its favour.
The PDP warned that any attempt to manipulate the exercise could trigger unrest in Zamfara. It urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately halt the alleged plot, while also calling on Nigerians and the international community to hold the APC responsible for any breakdown of law and order during the re-run.