Eko Hot Blog reports that the ongoing Governorship Election in Bayelsa State have been dominated by widespread vote buying allegations.
This news medium gathered that votes are openly being bought for N5,000 and N10,000 by the various political parties.
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According to The Whistler, voters in Yenegoa were spotted collecting the money and writing their names and contacts on a piece of paper after which they cast their votes.
Some of the electorates who spoke to the aforementioned publication said, “I collected N10,000 this morning, PDP is buying and APC is also buying. This afternoon, I heard that the amount has reduced to N5,000. I collected from PDP. I didn’t collect from APC because I have conscience.”
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A woman in her middle age at Eki ward III, Kpansia, said, “They said I should write my name but I refused. I can’t write my name, but I voted for the candidate of my choice. The money is our money, so there is no matter of conscience in it.”
One Solomon Ogbei said, “The money they are sharing is for us to drink soft drink. It is in order. To vote is a sacrifice, so they are simply thanking us.”
A young man however rejected to sell his vote. He said, “I can’t sell my vote. I don’t want to spoil my mind. I hate to hear anything about buying vote. That is the problem killing our country. After buying the votes, the winners will steal our wealth to cover up. Nigeria will not get better if we don’t change.”
A correspondent from the publication subsequently approached one of the security operatives and alerted him to the illicit situation.
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However, the officer, whose uniform bears no name, said, “Are you making an official report or what? You can make your reports at the appropriate quarters. Our own is to check violence, and the election has been violence-free.”
It was gathered that party agents monitored votes to ensure that those who were paid, voted for the party that they received the money from.
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