A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), has said that it observed “widespread instances of blatant vote buying and selling across several polling units” in the ongoing Edo State governorship election.
“Situation Room observers reported widespread instances of blatant vote buying and selling across several polling units, despite the huge presence of security personnel”, the group said in a statement by Yunusa Z. Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju.
The group said the price of votes ranged from N5,000 to N10,000 and in some cases, food items like bread and Gala were handed to the electorate.
“The price of votes ranged from ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 per voter in several locations, including PU (Polling Units) 08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East Local Government Area (LGA); PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and several polling units in Egor, Oredo and Owan-West LGAs.
“In some cases, voters were also induced with food items such as bread, gala (sausage roll)”, the group said.
The group, however, acknowledged the arrest of the alleged two vote traders in George Idah Primary School, Ward 2, Oredo LGA.
The Situation Room commended the peaceful conduct of voters and urged them to remain calm throughout the process.
The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), YIAGA Africa, are TAF Africa.
Others are Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women’s Rights to Education Programme, Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), DIG Ebonyi, New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Life And Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), Rural Youth Initiative, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Centre for Health and Development in Africa (CHEDA) and Josemaria Escriva Foundation.
Daily Trust reports that Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Frank Mba, had acknowledged that vote buying is one of the most difficult offences to manage, but promised to deal with offenders.
“Vote buying is one of the most difficult offences to actually police and manage and I am saying this with every sense of honesty”, DIG Mba said.
“The reason is simple, the bulk of vote buying and selling that takes place don’t take place in the glare of the public, in the glare of the media, in the glare of the law enforcement agents. Sometimes, they take place in the bedrooms of citizens and we don’t have the capacity to police every bedroom, every kitchen, every toilet and every balcony.
“But our pledge is that the ones that happen in the glare of the public, the ones our security network is able to detect and intercept, we will deal with”.
