Vote Buying Mars Re-run Election in Sokoto

The re-run election for the Yabo/Shagari House of Representatives seat recorded an impressive turnout in polling units where the election was rescheduled.

However, excessive vote buying was the order of the day, as witnessed in some of the polling units visited by our correspondent.

Recall that the Court of Appeal, in its ruling, ordered a re-run election in the Yabo/Shagari federal constituency and two state assemblies of Bodinga North and Tambuwal West, respectively.

Indeed, the election was an open bazaar as agents of the two leading political parties in the state, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), doled out between N20,000 and N35,000 to each voter.

One of the voters, Abubakar Ibrahim, who spoke with our correspondent, said he was offered a sum of N20,000 by one party agent while another agent offered him a sum of N30,000.

“I was offered a sum of N20,000 by one party agent while another person promised me N10,000 before I vote and to receive an additional N20,000 after voting, making it N30,000.

“I am still taking my time to know whom to vote for depending on how much they can offer me,” he said.

Also, at Gidan Masha in the Lambara ward of Shagari local government area of the state, massive vote buying was witnessed as voters were offered between N25,000 and N35,000, depending on their bargaining power.

Another source, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, confirmed that in other polling units, apart from the cash being offered to voters, a particular political party even offered water pumping machines in exchange for their votes.

He said, “Some of our people were given water pumping machines in exchange for their votes. You know this is a village, and most voters here are farmers, so they, in exchange for their votes, gave out water pumping machines in some of the polling units.”

Throughout the polling units visited by our correspondent, there was no breach of security, election officials and materials arrived at polling units on time, and voters conducted themselves in an orderly manner.