- As IGP, EFCC vow to deal with vote buyers, thugs
By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma has said political parties and their candidates must adhere to democratic norms and “collectively intervene to achieve the kind of credible elections that will further deepen democracy.
He spoke yesterday during a political parties summit organized in Abuja by the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), where he also said that political parties must operate within the ambit of the law to entrench democracy.
Uzodinma also emphasised the need for the opposition parties to be given opportunity to conduct their political activities, adding that fairness is the required principle in politics.
Similarly, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba and Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, have vowed to arrest, prosecute touts obstructing campaigns by opposition political parties and politicians indulging in vote buying during the 2023 poll.
Baba noted that all commissioners of police must provide security for political parties embarking on electioneering in all the nook and cranny of any state.
He spoke at the 2022 political parties’ summit organised by the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), yesterday in Abuja.
According to him, any commissioner who fails to carry out his responsibility within the ambit of the law and decide to dance to the tunes of state governors would be removed.
Represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Operations, Dandaura Mustapha, he said: “On the issue of election violence, the campaign has started.
“We have been receiving a lot of complains from political parties. It is unfortunate of what is happening this period.
“All the political parties are complaining. It is not only APC or PDP or Labour Party or APGA.
“Unfortunately, some of our governors as stated by the IG during a meeting with the political parties that they are not helping matters.
“They have not laid a solid foundation, give other political parties access to campaign programmes. Some try to manipulate the campaign.
“Some even sponsor touts to pursue the opposition, remove their billboards and posters and destroy their offices.
“Based on this, the Inspector General of Police, has categorically directed all the commissioners of police that on no account should any serving or sitting governor stop other political parties from conducting their campaigns in all the nook and cranny of the state.
“This instruction was very clear both in writing and verbal. We have told all the commissioners of police.
“When it happens, the commissioners of police have been directed to arrest all the hoodlums no matter where they belong and whoever is sponsoring them we will arrest them and charge them to court.
“So, please, be rest assured that all political parties are free to go about your lawful businesses. You are free to go to any village conduct your campaign freely and we are going to give you enough security.
“We are encouraging all the aspirants that once you are threatened and you have no access to go round meet the commissioner of police in charge of that state.
“They have been directed and warned to provide security for all the aspirants. No matter where they are going, they will attach security.”
Also in his keynote speech, Senator Pius Anyim, said political parties must adhere to the principles of social justice as a means of preventing crisis.
“The rumblings in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and All Progressives Congress, APC, are surely due to perceived social injustice in the management of the affairs of the parties, “ he argued.
According to him, the pain of the G-5 governors in the PDP is simply the sidelining of a section of the country in the sharing of party structures.
He however, called on IPAC to step forward in playing a role to stabilise the democratic environment by ensuring that parties take their rightful position as the bedrock of democracy in Nigeria.
Equally EFCC Chairman, who was represented by the Chief Supretendent in the Commission, Adukwu Michael, noted that EFCC had embarked on voter’s education and it is working to ensure that politicians do not spend beyond the stipulated amount.
He said: “The Commission focus in election management is discouraging the use of money to influence the outcome of election.
“Electoral spending by politicians often lead to voter inducement and vote buying.
“Parties often induce vote with money because they lack proper and realistic policies to convince the electorate to vote them into power.
“Whenever one is induced to sell his vote, he automatic loses moral ground to challenge corrupt tendencies of those elected.
“In the 2015 discreet investigation, the Commission was able to uncovered a ground plan to compromise the 2015 general election through massive cash payment to politicians $115 million was paid out to politicians by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezan Alison-Madukwe, to compromise the election.
“Some of the money was recovered while many of the culprits are being prosecuted with few conviction recorded.
“At the height of EFCC strategy to curb voter inducement is inter-agency collaboration and information sharing.
“The EFCC is completing the efforts of other stakeholders in educating the electorate on why it is important for their votes to not be traded.
“We are working with INEC to determine and to enforce provisions of the Electoral Act as it relates to limit of campaign spending by different categories of office seekers. This is an intelligent driven exercise.”
