How we will stop vote-buying, by IG, INEC

Commission promises to tackle menace

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba and theIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have expressed concern about the menace of vote-buying during elections in Nigeria.

The said a formidable strategy should be in place to checkmate the perpetrators, especially in the 2023 general election.

Baba said intelligence officers would be deployed during the election to apprehend politicians who buy votes.

The IG, who was represented by Bala Ciroma, an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), spoke at a stakeholders’ summit organised by INEC on the need to address the influence of financial inducement on next year’s polls.

The police boss noted that apart from electoral violence, thuggery, and snatching of ballot boxes, another major issue affecting the credibility of elections in Nigeria is the use of money to influence the election outcome.

He said there would be joint security operations to address the situation.

“We will achieve this in synergy with sister security agencies, anti-graft and intelligence agencies, and other stakeholders.

“The result of this synergy has started yielding positive results as a lot of arrests have been made, especially of persons buying voter registration cards as a prelude to rigging the elections. Some political thugs have also been arrested and are being prosecuted in courts of competent jurisdiction.

“We will also ensure that the police X-Squad, intelligence officers, and investigators are moved to the field to ensure that politicians moving on election days with tonnes of physical cash for vote-buying are apprehended and dealt with according to the provisions of the law.

“We have also deployed intelligence officers who will get embedded in the crowd during political rallies, to identify with precision, persons encouraging or perpetrating violence.

“Let me state again emphatically that the use of money during the 2023 elections is unacceptable and we will do all we can within the confines of the law to bring offending persons to book.

“Therefore, all hands are on deck and all the relevant security agencies are in synergy on this. We intend to provide an atmosphere conducive for the conduct of 2023 elections.”

INEC urged Nigerians to reject inducements that are meant to make them sell their votes to desperate politicians in the 2023 general election.

The commission advised the citizens to “engage effectively in stopping the negative use of money in our electoral process, generally, by reporting cases to INEC and other agencies”.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, spoke at the stakeholders’ summit on the need to address the influence of money in the 2023 general election, yesterday in Abuja.

The INEC chairman expressed worry about the effect that vote-buying has on the outcome of elections.

Yakubu reminded politicians that an “election is not a business venture for profit”.

He added: “We are gathered here today to address a matter of serious concern to most Nigerians. The negative role of money in elections goes to the very heart of our democracy. It destroys the very basis of democratic elections which is that citizens should freely choose those who exercise power on their behalf.

“Even more worrisome is the high prospect that criminal money may find its way into our elections through money laundering. Above all, the pernicious use of money tremendously increases the likelihood of election violence due to a ‘win at all costs’ mentality among contestants who would have invested a fortune in election.

“Surely, an election is not a business venture for profit. Instead, it is an application to serve the people with the understanding that they may prefer someone else on one occasion. But then, there would be an opportunity to reapply after four years. Citizens’ choices must never be subverted by the negative use of money.

“Understandably, many Nigerians have demanded to know from INEC what the commission is doing about the deleterious influence of money in elections, particularly the diabolical purchase of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) from voters ahead of the election and vote-buying at polling units on Election Day.

“Over the years, we introduced a number of measures, including the slight reconfiguration of our Polling Units to bring the ballot boxes closer to the voting cubicles to discourage the exposure of the marked ballot papers by voters to vote buyers. We also banned the use of smart phones and photographic devices by voters in the voting cubicles. Yet, these measures have recorded limited success.

“Today, we commence yet another initiative to sanitise and strengthen our electoral process. “We believe that in dealing with the corruption of our elections by money, the commission cannot do it alone. To succeed, we must mobilise every relevant national institution to support our effort.

“We must rely on the professional and other capacities of cognate agencies in our determination to improve electoral administration in Nigeria.

“That is why we appreciate the collaboration with the police, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as well as the regulatory bodies, such as the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

“We welcome the assurances of full collaboration, commitment and partnership of these agencies to credible elections based on their statutory responsibilities. We look forward to their initial ideas about how to deal with the problem when they address us shortly.”

(Nation)