Arrest Delegate Buyers, INEC Tells Security Agencies

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on Security personnel to arrest those buying delegates in primary elections.

INEC emphasised the necessity for stakeholder collaboration to address the issues of vote and delegate-buying during both main polls and primary elections.

The chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the first regular consultative meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCESS) held in Abuja on Tuesday.

Yakubu remarked that, just as voters are targeted at polling stations on election day, delegate-buying also occurs at the venues of congresses and conventions for the election of candidates.

“There is, of course, a great deal of work to be done, particularly in combating vote-buying. The Commission is pleased with our collaboration with law enforcement agencies, especially the anti-graft organisations.

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“Beyond the arrest of vote buyers on election day, our active partnership has thus far resulted in the successful prosecution of some offenders in three states of the federation.

“As you are aware, this issue also manifests during party primaries for the election of candidates. Similarly, just as voters are targeted at polling stations on election day, delegate-buying takes place at the venues of congresses and conventions for the election of candidates.

“As you can see from the timetable and schedule of activities included in your folders for this meeting, party primaries for the Anambra State governorship election begin next month, followed by the Area Council election in the FCT in June. We must continue to work together in partnership with other critical stakeholders to address this issue,” he added.

On his part, the National Security Adviser and co-chairman of ICCES, Nuhu Ribadu, represented by the Director of Internal Security in his office, Hassan Abdullahi, assured that the lessons learned from the isolated incidents recorded during the Edo and Ondo polls will be vital in refining security strategies ahead of the forthcoming bye-elections.

“The polls witnessed seamless cooperation between the security agencies, which facilitated a quick response to incidents that could have significantly disrupted the exercise.

“There was also the deployment of technology, particularly drones and communication systems, as well as improved surveillance and coordination, which accounted for the timely response to incidents.

“Though the voter turnout across the two states was not as anticipated, the conduct of the electorate was impressive, albeit with a few incidents of voter agitation over delayed commencement of the exercise in some polling units, due to logistical constraints,” he said.