INEC Election Ballot Box

As politicians prepare for the 2019 general elections, Alhaji Kabiru Sani, an aspirant to the Daura/Sandamu/Maiadua Federal Constituency seat, has called for stiff measures to check vote buying.

Sani told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Daura that the menace was posing a major threat to genuine democracy, and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “act fast’ to save democracy.

“Desperate politicians use money to induce voters. No one should be allowed to buy people’s conscience. It is immoral,” Sani declared.

He said that politicians, who bought their ways to power, would not perform because they would feel that they had settled the electorate and therefore not indebted to them.

Sani suggested that politicians caught bribing voters should be disqualified from the electoral contest so as to cleanse the system.

The aspirant advised politicians seeking elective offices to sell their manifestos to the voters, and urged leaders of political parties to encourage candidates to emphasise service delivery in the course of their campaigns.

He also called for more proactive measures to rid the system of corrupt tendencies so as to safeguard the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral processes.

Sani said that vote buying tendencies were even worse during party primary elections.

“Delegates that determine aspirants’ fates during political party primaries are more fond of such monetary demands. Since INEC supervises such primaries, we expect the electoral body to do more toward tackling the greed of these delegates,” he said.

On his plans for the constituency, Sani said that he would strive to attract private sector investments into the area to exploit raw materials and generate employment.

He also promised to initiate bills and motions that that would accelerate the socioeconomic development of the area.

Sani, who urged tolerance among the five aspirants seeking the seat, said that he would accept the outcome of the primary election if the process was free, fair and objective.

He commended the Federal Government for citing a federal university of transport, and command units of the Army and Air force in his constituency, saying that the gesture would boost the economy, improve scholarship and ensure adequate security to the area.