According to reports from civil society organizations, the Edo State Governorship election has been marred by widespread vote-buying, with some politicians offering bread, cash, and other incentives to sway voters.
This was made known by Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR). The group said it observed rampant instances of blatant vote buying and selling across several polling units in the ongoing Edo State Governorship election.
“Situation Room observers reported widespread instances of blatant vote buying and selling across several polling units, despite the huge presence of security personnel,” the group said in a statement co-signed by Yunusa Z. Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju.
The group reported a range of vote-buying tactics employed, with prices for votes varying between ₦5,000 and ₦10,000. In some cases, food items such as bread were offered to voters in exchange for their support.
“The price of votes ranged from N5,000 to N10,000 per voter in several locations, including PU08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East LGA; PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and several polling units in Egor, Oredo and Owan-West LGAs.
“In some cases, voters were also induced with food items such as bread,” the group said.
The group, however, acknowledged the arrest of the alleged two vote traders in George Idah Primary School, Ward 2, Oredo Local Government Area.
The Situation Room commended the peaceful conduct of voters and urged them to remain calm throughout the process.
The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), YIAGA Africa, are TAF Africa.
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