With 25 days to the 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has uncovered plans by some politicians to rig the polls through Food Vendors across the country.
Food Vendors are employees under the Home Grown School Feeding arm of the Social Intervention Programme of the President Muhammadu Buahri led All Progressives Congress, APC federal government.
Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman made this revelation Monday at a meeting with the European Union, EU Chief Observer for the 2019 general elections Maria Arena at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Yakubu told the EU Chief Observer that, “following recent consultations with stakeholders across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, the attention of the Commission was drawn to a new plan by some political actors to use food vendors around polling units with large voter populations as collection points for cash-for-votes as well as other forms of material inducement to voters on election day”.
He stressed that INEC, “have taken bold steps to address the disturbing trend of vote-buying by some political actors. For this reason, we have modified the administration of our polling units in order to make it difficult for voters to expose their marked ballot papers on election day.
“We have also introduced the partial ban on the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices by voters while in the voting cubicles. We are also introducing the rolling and flattening of ballot papers by voters on election day.
“We are training our election duty staff, in addition to voter education and sensitization, on this new innovation. We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring the sanctity of the ballot”.
According to the INEC Chairman, “the EU is one of the long-standing partners of the Commission in deepening electoral democracy in Nigeria. Through the EU-Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), we have developed and validated our strategic plans; deepened our engagement with stakeholders, enhanced the participation of marginalised groups in the electoral process especially women, youths and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
“Built the capacities of our staff; brought together other electoral commissions within Africa to share experience on best practice in the use of technology in elections; and benefitted from the services of election experts in various aspects of the Commission’s operations.
“I must equally acknowledge the benefit we derived from the recommendations of the EU Observer Mission to our last General Elections in 2015 led by Mr Santiago Fisas. We were delighted to once again receive Mr Fisas as head of the Election Follow-up Mission (EFM) to Nigeria from 10thOctober to 9thNovember 2017.
“We have implemented all the recommendations made by the EU Mission in 2015 that are within the powers of the Commission to do, including the simultaneous accreditation and voting system which we introduced on 9th January 2016 and used it to seamlessly conduct off-season elections into 194 constituencies”.
James Kwen, Abuja
