The Accord, which has fielded Ademola Adeleke, the incumbent governor, has accused the APC of harbouring alleged election hackers at a hotel in Osogbo, claiming they were brought into the state to compromise the Independent National Electoral Commission’s digital systems.

The allegation was contained in a statement signed by Victor Akande, the Accord State Chairman, who called on security agencies to investigate the claim and prevent any attempt to undermine the election.

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

The Accord urged INEC to strengthen its ICT infrastructure and tighten its digital security ahead of the poll, warning that any attempt to manipulate the outcome electronically would be resisted.

The party also called on security agencies to raid the alleged operational centre and other locations where such activities might be taking place.

“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,” Akande alleged.

But the APC dismissed the allegation as false and baseless, accusing the Accord of resorting to unfounded claims because of its alleged fear of defeat.

Kola Olabisi, the APC spokesman in Osun State, said the party had no reason to manipulate the election, insisting that its candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, was capable of winning the poll through legitimate votes.

“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,” the APC said.

Olabisi described the allegation as an attempt to damage the reputation of the APC and urged voters to disregard it.

“Our party does not need to rig any election before our candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, wins the election,” he said.

He further challenged Accord to report its allegations to the police and other relevant security agencies if it had evidence to support the claims.

“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,” Olabisi added.

BusinessDay reports that the Osun contest has effectively narrowed to a two-horse race between Accord and the APC, despite 14 political parties being cleared to participate in the election. (BusinessDay)