EFCC STORMS ANAMBRA AS VOTE-BUYING ALLEGATIONS MAR ELECTION IN SOME POLLING UNITS
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Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Saturday arrived in Anambra State to monitor and prevent financial inducement of voters during the ongoing governorship election.
EFCC operatives were sighted at the Community Primary School, Amawbia, in Awka South Local Government Area, where they observed the electoral process and ensured compliance with electoral laws.
However, reports of alleged vote buying emerged from Central School Utuh, where a woman was seen being accompanied by a party agent into the voting cubicle a violation of electoral rules.
Eyewitnesses said the party agent was heard asking, “Ego ole?” meaning “How much?” in what appeared to be a negotiation over the woman’s vote. The situation led to a confrontation between the agent and election officials, resulting in a brief disruption of voting activities.
An election observer, Dimma Nwobi of the Situation Room, decried the incidents of voter inducement witnessed in some polling units.
“We came from Nnewi North, and nothing was happening there initially, though the area has five wards and 13 polling units.
“But here, we observed that party agents were collecting people’s cards, INEC officials were issuing forms to voters, and the same forms were later handed back to party agents who dropped them in the ballot box clear evidence of vote buying,” Nwobi said.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 2,802,790 registered voters are expected to cast their ballots across 5,718 polling units in 21 local government areas of the state.
The election, which spans three senatorial districts, features 16 candidates, including Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP), and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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