FORMER Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Saturday cast his vote in the state governorship election and lamented alleged persistent vote buying.
Obi voted at Polling Unit 019, Umudim Akasi, Agulu Ward 2, Anaocha Local Government Area, around 12pm.
Addressing journalists after casting his ballot, Obi decried the practice, describing it as a major threat to Nigeria’s democracy. “Our democracy is deteriorating, and unfortunately, those who benefit from bad governance are the ones sustaining it,” he said.
He lamented that voters, often unemployed, were being paid to sell their votes.
“Someone who is not employed collects ₦30,000 for their vote. That means they have sold their school, their hospital, their job opportunities. They are selling away their future. That is what is very worrisome about our democracy,” Obi said.
Comparing the situation with other countries, he noted that even in West African elections he had observed, such widespread vote buying was rare. He called for reforms to strengthen electoral integrity.
The ICIR reports that the Saturday’s elections have drawn 121 accredited local and international observers and 76 media organisations.
It’s also the first assignment for the new INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, a professor.
The election has so far been peaceful. According to the INEC data, 2,802,790 registered voters across 21 Local Government Areas, 326 political wards, and 5,718 polling units are expected to participate in the exercise.
The INEC data further shows that over 1.7 million voters collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), while more than 7,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were deployed for the election.
The ICIR reported that the electoral body had cleared 16 candidates from various political parties to vie for the highest political office in the state, including the incumbent Governor Charles Soludo All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ukachukwu Nicholas, All Progressives Congress (APC), Ezenwafor Jude, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), and Moghalu Nnadubem, Labour Party (LP).
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.