In a bid to curb the menace of electoral fraud ahead of the 2023 general election, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has beamed its searchlights on vote buyers and sellers.
The anti-graft agency said it will continue to partner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to curb vote buying, especially during the 2023 general elections.
Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, disclosed this yesterday in an interview with journalists shortly after defending the commission’s 2023 budget before the senate committee on anti-corruption.
“We will continue to do what we have to do; we are trying to ensure that illegitimate funds are not finding their way into our electoral processes,” he said.
Bawa said that the commission would partner with INEC to arrest and prosecute persons involved in vote buying.
The commission’s chairman said cases of those arrested for vote buying in previous elections were ongoing in court.
He thanked the National Assembly for supporting the commission through landmark legislation designed to further assist it to deliver on its mandate.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank the National Assembly for their support as EFCC chairman, particularly the committee on anti-corruption.
“They have been with us 100 per cent. You remember recently they have worked with us to pass landmark Acts and legislations and the president has assented to it. So, we are working with them towards ensuring that this country is free of economic and financial crimes,” he said.
Bawa further lauded the redesigning of naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), noting that it was a welcome development.
He stated: “We welcome the policy; it is a good thing that the country is designing its currency because how can you have an effective monetary policy when you don’t have control over 85 per cent of your currencies.
“Out there, people are holding it, people are using it to speculate on foreign currencies, and so coming out with this policy, the government is trying to contend with it.”
According to him, with the new policy, the commission will be able to monitor people holding currencies legitimately and illegitimately.
“I am sure that those people that are holding back this money, whether legitimately or illegitimately, we will be able to monitor and the right cause of the law will take its course,” he added.
On the fight against cybercrimes, Bawa urged youths to support the commission to rid the nation of cybercrimes and other criminal activities associated with cyberspace.
According to him, their activities are tarnishing the image of the country in the global arena.
Bawa revealed that as of October 22, the commission succeeded in securing 2,847 convictions of cybercrime perpetrators.
“These are Nigerians from the youthful constituency. They should join me in fighting the scourge of Cybercrime. It is part of our mandate to fight cybercrime, to fight advance fee fraud, and we are working in conformity with the law.
“I am pleading with them not to stop doing such things at this time of transition of the country in terms of elections, in terms of government efforts to see that the economy is back on track,” Bawa added.
Nobody Can Hack Into Our Devices, INEC Boasts
Also yesterday, INEC said it has perfected plans to make its electronic devices for the conduct of the 2023 general election impossible to be hacked.
The administrative secretary of the commission in Anambra state, Jude Okwuonu, stated that the commission has put in place multiple plans to foil any attempt hackers might hatch to hack into INEC devices for purposes of manipulating the outcome of the election.
Emphasising the sophistications the commission had achieved to ensure that its electronic devices are not susceptible to hackers, the head of department, ICT/VR, Emeka Nnaji stated: “We are using cloud systems in our devices which is a most efficient and reliable saving system.
“It has firewalls which makes any information being transmitted through it only valuable until it gets to the intended receiver”.
Okwuonu and Nnaji spoke at a one-day sensitisation workshop for media practitioners in the state on the commission’s preparations towards the conduct of the 2023 general election.
Head of Voter Education and Publicity, VEP, George Edeani, emphasised that the commission needs media partnership for the success of the general election, particularly in the area of mobilising voters, monitoring violators of electoral laws, and exposing them, as well as setting agenda for the commission towards making the election free, fair and the results credible.
Head of Legal Services, Sunday Neigboke, stated that the 2022 Electoral Act has empowered the commission to conduct the election electronically.
According to him, the law has laid stronger foundation to guarantee that the outcome of the polls are more credible such that any challenge of the outcome in the court would easily be determined.
He stated that under the new electoral law over-voting can only be established when the total number of voters recorded is higher than the number accredited.
He also explained that non-qualification to vote does not disqualify any candidate of a political party from contesting an election and to be voted for.
INEC Forecloses Use Of Incident Forms
Relatedly, INEC has foreclosed the use of incident forms for the 2023 General Election, saying the Commission is committed to ensuring that the polls are transparent and credible, reflecting the will of the Nigerian people.
INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who reaffirmed the stance of the commission at the third quarterly meeting with Media Executives and CSOs yesterday in Abuja reassured Nigerians of its commitment to credible elections supported by appropriate technology.
He said, “Voters will be accredited by means of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). There will be no incident form. Results will be transmitted to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal in real time on Election Day. We are committed to ensuring that the 2023 General Election is transparent and credible, reflecting the will of the Nigerian people.”
Speaking further, he said the commission is also working hard to ensure the completion of printing of remaining PVCs for new voters as well as those that applied to transfer or the replacement of their lost or damaged cards.
In the coming days, he said the INEC chairman will also inform Nigerians of the detailed plan to ensure a seamless collection of the PVCs.
He stated: “We are aware that Nigerians expect an improvement in the procedure for PVC collection. Since the end of the CVR in July this year, we have been working to ensure that citizens have a pleasant experience when they come to collect their cards, including collaboration with CSOs for a pilot exercise in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“We are exploring the possibility of scaling up the FCT pilot for nationwide application.”
