Politics

Vote-buying, an evil force that threatens democracy —Sanusi

Published

2 years ago

July 25, 2022

Court orders Ganduje, others not to take any action against Emir Sanusi

Vote buying has been referred to as an evil force that threatens the integrity of the democratic process in the nation by Sanusi Lamido, the 14th Emir of Kano.

Sanusi spoke virtually on Sunday, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, for Penpushing Media’s fourth anniversary lecture on the topic of “Social Media Regulation: Insecurity and Elections Accountability in Nigeria.”

Vote-buying, according to him, violates the principles of democracy and is disrespectful of both the democratic process and the integrity of the vote.

Sanusi voiced special concern over the exhibition of thumb-printed ballots by voters as proof that they had exchanged their votes for political favours.

He said, “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.

“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.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now