The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has confirmed a notable incidence of vote-buying with cash and bank transfers across many states and Abuja during the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly elections
The cases were recorded in “many states including Delta, Lagos, and the FCT,” according to NBA’s interim report on the elections released on Wednesday.
Nigeria went into the first phase of the general elections on 25 February amid an excruciating scarcity of currency notes across the country.
The problem which has generated chaos and brought hardships to millions of citizens resulted from an aggressive withdrawal of the old versions of newly introduced N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes from circulation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
But despite the naira scarcity, the police and other security agencies, days before the elections, arrested some politically-affiliated persons with huge cash suspected to be meant for vote buying.
The NBA, in its interim report on the 25 February elections, confirmed vote-buying took place in different states and Abuja, although on a less brazen scale compared to previous elections.
It said its observers documented party agents sharing cash and making bank transfers in exchange for votes during the elections.
Credit: premiumtimesng.com
