There are indications that the leading political parties in the Edo governorship election are ready to outdo one another in vote-buying to win the poll scheduled for next Saturday.

Our correspondents gathered that the parties had started amassing ?war chests? in a desperate bid to compromise voters.

A highly credible source said the Edo poll could set a new record for vote-buying in the history of elections in the country.

?A vote could go as high as between N15,000 and N20,000. There are plans by agents of some of the parties to mop up voter cards. How they intend to use the cards is what nobody knows. This is why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission are being deployed for the election,? the source added.

Another source confirmed plans by the parties for what he called ?heavy vote-buying?.

?I can confirm to you that the parties are ready to do whatever it takes to win this election and that includes paying as high as N20,000 for a vote.

?Unfortunately, doling out of gift items during campaigns has become entrenched in our political system with voters themselves mortgaging their votes for a ?pot of pottage?. The voters are all partners in crime and what they fail to understand is that collecting gift items and cash from candidates and political parties makes them vulnerable.

?They will not have the moral justification to question the government if it fails in its responsibility to provide developmental projects in the state. After all, they (the electorate) have been paid upfront.

?Unless the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies work together to ensure that citizens are discouraged from selling their votes, this might be an election where the buying of votes becomes an all-time high,? the source added.

Another source urged INEC and security agencies to monitor the activities of parties and their agents on election day.

He said, ?I have spoken to some members of two of the leading parties and they said that they are preparing to bring out cash to induce voters. So INEC and security agencies should be ready to combat this.?

Parties already paying voters

A frontline election monitoring organisation, Yiaga Africa, said both the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress had been inducing voters ahead of the election.

Yiaga expressed worry that the parties had abandoned the election mandate and resolved to induce voters with cash and materials.

The Media Officer of the organisation, Jennifer Dafwat, while speaking with Saturday PUNCH, said the group witnessed and documented political parties and politicians distributing cash, presents, and food items to entice voters.

?Election mandates are becoming less credible as a result of this sad trend. These incidents were primarily noticed or heard about in the Uselu market, Egor LGA, where market women received monetary gifts ranging from N1,000 to N2,000 from the APC and PDP parties during their campaign tours.

?Similarly, PDP campaigners gave wrappers to women who joined the campaign gathering in the Amiebonkhian community of Esan North East LGA. In the Ubiaja community of Esan South East LGA, PDP campaigners also gave several store owners shirts, caps, umbrellas, and as much as N2000,? she added.

The Chairman of the Edo State chapter of the Conference of Registered Political Party, Samson Isibor, described the plans as unwholesome.

He noted that whoever bought votes did not mean well for the masses.

While admitting that it would be difficult for people to reject such offers due to economic hardship, he urged the electorate to vote their conscience.

He said, ?What they are engaging in is transactional politics, where buying and selling of votes becomes the order of the day.

?We do not want politics to degenerate into this. Those who buy votes are not coming to serve the people. You don?t need to buy votes from the people you want to serve. All you have to do is sell your manifesto to them.?

PDP, APC, LP exchange tackles

The Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, Timothy Osadolor, told Saturday PUNCH that the APC had demonstrated a significant propensity for vote-buying.

Osadolor stated, ?The APC has shown that they are not prepared for the election; they are gearing up for violence and vote buying. That is why they have not campaigned on issues but have instead relied on federal might.

?In contrast, the PDP is ready for this election and any future elections because we have done our homework and the people are with us. We also have the most credible candidate, and the incumbent Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has achieved a lot, which will swing votes to the PDP.

?The APC has demonstrated a significant propensity for violence and has even recruited some members of the Nigeria Police Force into their scheme. We also know they are planning to engage in heavy vote buying, which will be resisted.?

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, also said the APC had shown signs it was not committed to a free, fair, and credible election.

He said, ?Since It became evident that the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, is heading towards decisive victory, the APC and its candidate, Monday Okpebholo, have become desperate, resorting to violence and intimidation to undermine the will of Edo State voters. Reports indicate that the APC has set up a torture squad to abduct innocent Edo residents and take them to undisclosed locations.

?This use of violence and intimidation reveals that the APC and its ineffective candidate are intimidated by Dr Asue Ighodalo?s growing popularity in Edo State.?

Ologunagba also claimed that the APC was importing thugs from Imo State to assist in an election manipulation scheme.

He noted that residents were prepared to use every lawful means to confront and resist attempts to disrupt the governorship election.

But the APC dismissed the allegations, insisting that Governor Obaseki was plotting to rig the September 21 governorship election.

The National Publicity Director of the party, Bala Ibrahim, said, ?The PDP has made a name in rigging. But because their rigging mechanism has been uncovered and defeated, everything about them falls around rigging. Now that they cannot unleash their rigging tactics, they have refused to sign the Peace Accord.

?They have seen that the people are ready to protect their votes and won?t allow rigging; this is why they are making noise all over the place about arrest, rigging, vote-buying and others. This is even a sign that the PDP has lost grip and the real meaning and intent of democracy.?

Ibrahim denied that the APC had plans to buy votes, adding that the party lacked the means.

Also, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Edo State, Peter Uwadiae, said his party had no reason to engage in vote-buying.

He said, ?We are not in the business of buying votes and we don?t have any reason to do such. We are not paying for votes. Buying of votes is an electoral offence and we cannot be seen to be committing an offence when we are planning to win the election.

?The only party that will buy votes is the one that feels it has not been accepted and this is a wrong step to be taken by any political party that means well for the Edo people.

?We are a decent party, we have done so well in our campaign and the people have shown that we are accepted and are ready to demonstrate that on election day.?

The Labour Party Public Relations Officer, Sam Uruopa, distanced his party from vote-buying, saying only the APC and PDP ere known for such.

He said, ?The APC and the PDP are the ones involved in vote-buying if what you heard is correct. That has been their practice, they also rig elections and are involved in other electoral malpractices. We are urging INEC and the security agencies to watch officials of these political parties closely, especially during the election.

?For the LP, we are not vote buyers and the people are with us. However, we are scared about this age-long practice they have been known for, that they have used to cripple this country and used to bastardise the electoral system.?

The Deputy Director General, Media, Asue/Ogie Campaign Management Council, Olu Martin, said parties that did not have popular candidates engaged in the practice.

He said, ?I can?t speak for other parties but it is not unusual in a democracy to see people trying to induce voters, especially for parties who don?t have popular candidates.

?For us in the PDP, our fellowship is organic, our candidate is known, our manifesto is clear, we have endeared ourselves to the people. We even have people who are donating to us and ready to mobilise people to go out and vote. They are even ready to give us money to run the campaign. If you buy votes, you now become like a social contractor hoping to recoup what you have spent. It is the people that will suffer.?

EFCC, INEC warn parties

The spokesman for EFCC, Dele Oyewale, said vote buying is an economic crime and the commission would not tolerate it.

?We will not allow any kind of criminality in any form,? he stated.

?The same spirit and focus that we have been using to fight all other crimes, will be deployed be the commission to fight criminality including vote-buying.?

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the electoral body had asked security agencies to go after vote buyers.

?Therefore, it will be a big mistake for any political party to think that its members can engage in vote-buying on election day because law enforcement agents will move against them. I would strongly advise anyone thinking of doing it to have a rethink. Apart from the fact that vote-buying is an electoral offence, it will also go against the spirit and letter of the Peace Accord that the political parties and their candidates signed only on Thursday here in Benin City,? he added.

Obaseki raises the alarm

Meanwhile, the Edo State Governor Obaseki, has alleged that INEC is working in cahoots with the APC to postpone the governorship poll on the eve of the election.

A statement on Friday said the governor spoke while addressing members and leaders of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

Obaseki, who had earlier refused to sign the peace agreement, noted that the country?s democracy was at risk.

He said, ?They plan to postpone the election on the eve of the election to destabilise us. But whenever they postpone the election, we will win the election. It will be a long fight but we know it?s a struggle.?

?APC has not offered us an alternative. They have not campaigned on any meaningful thing we can hold them onto. They don?t have any credible candidate but all they boast of is federal might. They say they will write the results and we can go to court. We will not go to court because they can?t write the results. If they write the results, they will meet the consequences.? (Saturday PUNCH)

?PDP, APC and LP candidates in the coming Edo gov poll in 2024

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