Osun poll: Accord, APC clash over alleged election hacking

The Accord Party in Osun State has accused the All Progressives Congress of allegedly harbouring election hackers in a hotel in Osogbo ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

 

The party alleged that the hackers were brought into the state to compromise the Independent National Electoral Commission’s digital system and manipulate election results.

 

The allegation was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by the Osun Accord Chairman, Victor Akande, who called on security agencies to investigate the claim and apprehend those involved.

 

Akande alleged that the suspected hackers were brought in from Lagos and Abuja and had established an operational centre at the GMT Hotel in Osogbo.

 

He 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 and ICT security systems ahead of the poll, while calling on security agencies to raid the hotel and other alleged illegal centres.

 

Accord also warned that any attempt to hack or manipulate the election results would be resisted by voters, while reaffirming its readiness to mobilise supporters for the poll.

 

However, the APC dismissed the allegation as false and baseless, accusing Accord of raising the claim out of fear of defeat.

 

The Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said the party had no need to rig the election to secure victory for its candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.

 

Olabisi said, “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.

 

“It is the fear of losing the election that is haunting the Accord Party functionaries who are peddling the information. It is nothing but a figment of the imagination of those peddling the rumour.”

 

He challenged Accord to report the matter to the police if it had evidence to support its allegation.

 

“If they are sure that we are harbouring any hacker, the right place for the Accord Party to go is the police,” Olabisi said.

 

Fourteen political parties have been cleared by INEC to participate in the election, but the contest is largely expected to be between Accord, which is fielding incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, and the APC, whose candidate is former National Inland Waterways Authority Managing Director, Bola Oyebamiji.