Nigerian Politicians Now Investing in Vote Buying- Observers Cry Out

Human right organizations, under the umbrella of Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, has berated politicians' alleged recent trend of investing in vote-buying during election.

 Speaking on behalf of  Situation Room, Clement Nwankwo who described the development as a threat to the electoral system stated that the voters appeared willing to sell their votes. 

Making this observation in reaction to the recently concluded governorship election held in Edo state, Nwankwo stated that all major political parties engaged in vote-buying.

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“The menace of vote trading, which includes buying and selling, appears to be deepening in Nigeria’s elections. Politicians are increasingly investing money to buy votes with voters appearing to be willing to sell their votes. In the Edo State election, this practice was widespread with all of the major political parties engaging in this infringement.” 

“Situation Room calls on the National Assembly to move quickly and urgently proceed with legislative action to ensure the passage of the Electoral Offences Commission Bill that creates a body to enforce respect for election laws.

“Overall, the Edo State governorship election was violence-free to the relief of stakeholders who had feared that the violence-laden rhetoric of the election participants could pose a threat to peaceful elections,” Nwankwo said.

It will be recalled that AllNews had given a minute-to-minute report of the Edo governorship election that saw the incumbent governor and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Godwin Obaseki, returning as the state governor.