BY Ebunoluwa Olafusi
Segun Agbaje, resident electoral commissioner (REC) in Osun state, says vote-buying is a disease that must be stopped.
According to NAN, he made the statement during a presentation on INEC’s preparations for the Osun gubernatorial election at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue Session in Abuja.
He said the current trend of inducing voters with money is worrisome because it undermines the credibility of elections.
Agbaje also spoke on some of the steps taken by INEC to curb vote-buying.
“The issue of vote-buying is worrisome to the commission because it is not easy for INEC to prepare for election and on that day people will come with bags of money,” he said.
“This undermines the credibility of elections; so, INEC has decided to re-arrange its voting cubicle in a way that voters cannot display their votes.
“There will no longer be a way of showing your votes to politicians to go and collect money; we are also working on not allowing voters with phones into the area and security agents will be there to make arrests.
“Vote-buying is a disease that is graduating to kill our electoral system and must be stopped.”
Agbaje said INEC is ready for the Osun election, adding that 1,192,386 permanent voter cards (PVCs) had been collected in the state while 483,826 were awaiting collection.
The REC said the commission will continue to strengthen its voter-education machinery for improved and targeted exercise.
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