Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has urged security agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals involved in vote buying ahead of the Ekiti governorship election.
Amupitan spoke during a meeting with security agencies in preparation for the off-cycle governorship election in Ekiti State.
The INEC chairman described vote buying and vote trading as major threats to Nigeria’s electoral process.
“One of the major challenges and constraints of our electoral process is the issue of vote-buying or vote-trading,” he said.
“This is a criminal offence under the Electoral Act.”
He said agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the police have the responsibility of arresting offenders.
“It is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies, most especially the EFCC, the ICPC and the police, to ensure that those who are involved in it are arrested and promptly prosecuted,” he said.
Amupitan added that INEC would handle the prosecution of electoral offenders in line with the law.
“It is the responsibility of INEC to prosecute,” he said.
PARTIES SHOULD AVOID VOTE BUYING
The INEC chairman also appealed to political parties to avoid engaging in vote trading during the election.
“We urge all political parties to please refrain from this issue of vote-trading,” he said.
Amupitan further assured stakeholders that the commission had complied with provisions of the Electoral Act regarding voter registration and updates to the voters register.
“We have satisfied all the provisions in section 9 of the Electoral Act by updating and even including the newly registered voters together with the previous records,” he said.
He described the voters register as critical to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
“The voters register is the foundation upon which free, fair and credible elections are built,” he said.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC had taken steps to address the long-standing electoral issues in the Warri federal constituency.
