Ondo Guber: Vote Buying Must Stop – Abdulsalami Tells Politicians

Retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who previously served as Nigeria’s Military Head of State, has called upon political leaders to discontinue the practice of vote buying.

During the ceremony for signing the Peace Accord in preparation for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State, Abdulsalami, who currently holds the position of Chairman of the National Peace Committee (NPC), made this appeal.

It is worth noting that the event took place on Friday in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.

Representatives from the 17 political parties contesting in the election participated in the signing of the peace accord.

Abdulsalami encouraged the candidates for governorship to embrace the election results, provided they were deemed free, fair, and credible.

He also suggested that candidates who were dissatisfied with the results could pursue lawful and non-violent avenues to address any grievances that might emerge following the election.

“I urge all politicians who will sign the accord to fully commit themselves and their parties to the letter and spirit of the accord to shun violence and intimidation and remember that as politicians, you must demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship, as that is a key trait of good leadership,” he said.

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“It remains the duty of Nigerian citizens to elect their leaders free from any inducements or prejudice. Political actors must also discontinue this menace of vote trading.”

In acknowledging the commendable efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abdulsalami implored the electoral body to fulfill its duties diligently in fostering an environment where eligible voters can exercise their right to vote peacefully.

Abdulsalami, noting the state of Ondo’s consistent record of peace, also extended his gratitude to the Nigeria Police Force and the members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) for their role in ensuring peace and security throughout the electoral period.

“I therefore urge them to remain resilient in averting any threats of violence and maintaining the peace in the state as we are only a few days away from the elections,” he said.

On his part, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC National Chairman, commended the committee for its timely efforts in bringing parties and candidates together.

Yakubu, who said that seven peace accords had been signed in off-cycle elections since the inception of 2020, called on religious leaders, traditional leaders, security agencies and others to join hands with a commission for peaceful elections.

“To all political parties and candidates, singing of peace Accord alone will not guarantee peaceful election. The peace accord is never ultimate, but your commitment to implementation is crucial.

“So, you have signed the peace accord, you should commit yourself with implementation and pass the message to your supporter to complying to honour,” Yakubu said.

Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), announced that the police force would allocate its personnel to every polling unit across the state, encompassing a total of 3,933 units, along with 203 political wards.

Mr. Egbetokun, who was in attendance, was represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of police, Sylvester Alabi. He further stated that the police would ensure the protection of both the electoral officers and the materials related to the election process.

“We are going to deploy five personnel to each of the polling units to protect the INEC materials, officials, and electorate during and after the election,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the governorship candidates, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who noted that the state had been peaceful prior to this time, promised that he would abide by the terms of the peace accord.

Aiyedatiwa said the state had been peaceful, especially during the campaign, urging the other co-contestants to ensure they play the game according to the rules.

“All stakeholders have been abiding by the rules of the game. I plead that they stay with the tenant of democracy. We will all abide by the tenet of the peaceful accord. Elections will come and go, but the state will remain. During the election, we should remain peaceful and also after the election,” the Ondo State Governor said.