Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, a former Emir of Kano, has referred to vote-buying as an evil force that damages the integrity of the nation’s democratic system.
Sanusi gave a virtual speech at Penpushing Media’s fourth-anniversary lecture, titled “Social Media Regulation: Insecurity and Elections Accountability in Nigeria,” which took place at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He stated that the act of vote-buying violates the fundamental principles of democracy, the rule of law, and the integrity of the voting process.
Sanusi voiced special concern over the display of thumb-printed ballots by voters as proof of their engagement in vote-trading with politicians.
Read: Nigeria Has Made Zero Progress In 40 Years – Sanusi Lamido
“So as Nigerians commend the politicians for improvement to the law, we need to call on all Nigerians to be vigilant and for institutions to respect their mandates while remaining neutral and to ensure justice and fair play,” Sanusi said.
“One of the major ways in which elections are being subverted in the new act is the policy of vote-buying, and this is a lack of respect for the law on secret ballot.
“The Nigerian people and citizens must get together to ensure the sanctity of their ballot and secrecy of their elections. We need to ensure that those we elect into office are those who were announced.”
Check Also: EDITORIAL: Stopping the menace of vote buying in Nigerian elections
