By Adedapo Adesanya
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in its latest request, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to initiate the arrest of politicians who are allegedly buying Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from poor voters.
In a statement, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, on Sunday said the President must “urgently direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to identify and arrest politicians who are allegedly buying permanent voter cards (PVCs) from poor Nigerians, and promptly bring them to justice.”
The rights group also wants Mr Buhari to ensure that the politicians and their sponsors who are suspected to be involved in what it describes as grave electoral and human rights crimes are named and shamed, regardless of their political affiliations.
Recalling that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently alleged that some politicians were buying PVCs from poor Nigerians across the country, the group said the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) corroborated the allegations, reportedly stating that some politicians were buying PVCs with N2,000 in the north.
“Buying of PVCs from poor Nigerians is a threat to fair and representative elections, as it amounts to vote buying, undue influence, and improper electoral influence,” the statement said.
“The allegations that politicians and their sponsors are buying PVCs from poor Nigerians are grave violations of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Electoral Act, and the country’s international anti-corruption and human rights obligations.
“The right to vote is central to the enjoyment of other basic human rights but the right will have little meaning if politicians and their sponsors continue to buy PVCs and get away with their crime against the Nigerian people,” it added.
Modupe Gbadeyanka