Agents from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) engaged in a war of words over allegations of vote buying during the ongoing rerun elections in Kaduna State.
Kaduna is among the 26 states where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is conducting bye and re-run elections.
In Barnawa’s 009 polling unit in Kaduna South Local Government Area, the PDP representative, Victoria Koko, accused the ruling APC of indulging in vote buying.
She asserted that the ruling party was enticing voters with amounts ranging from N10,000 to N15,000, a practice she deemed unhealthy for a democratic process.
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“In Barnawa, what is happening is vote buying. Vote buying (of) N10,000 (and) N15,000 which is not done. They are not doing the vote properly; all they know is vote buying,” Koko claimed.
When pressed about those involved in the act, Koko pointed directly at the ruling APC. To emphasize her stance, she added, “I can show you them now. You can just look around and see that the turnout is much. If it is not vote buying, you cannot see anybody.”
Expressing concern over the situation, the PDP agent urged the government to address the issue of vote buying urgently.
She specifically called on the state government to ensure that voters are allowed to make their choices freely during the bye-election.
“We want the government to do something about it. They should do justice; they should know what they are doing. This is what we call a bye-election; people want to vote. You can see N15,000 for this condition. If you give someone N15,000, they will come and vote APC,” Koko asserted.
In response, the APC’s agent, Aminu Mohammed, dismissed the allegations of vote buying as a mere lamentation from a struggling party. He insisted that the election was proceeding smoothly and accused the PDP of attempting to stir sentiments due to the anticipated defeat facing the opposition party.
“It is not so because if you look at the atmosphere, all the people here came out to vote for the APC. We didn’t give anyone money.”
“They are here to cast their vote, this is the franchise of their own choice. Maybe you can ask them (PDP) if they are the ones giving people money. All the time, PDP used to criticize people. I am an agent of APC, and I am here, I didn’t see anything like that,”Mohammed stated.
Source: Channels TV