SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and anti-corruption agencies to arrest politicians buying Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from poor Nigerians, and promptly bring them to justice.
ALSO READ: 2023: Politicians Can’t Bypass BVAS Through Bought PVCs – INEC
SERAP also urged Buhari to ensure that the politicians and their sponsors involved in grave electoral crimes and human rights violations are named and shamed, regardless of their political affiliations.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently alleged that some politicians were buying PVCs from poor Nigerians across the country.
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) corroborated INEC, adding that some politicians in the North bought PVCs with as low as N2,000. In the letter signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP asserted: “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 allegations that politicians and their sponsors are buying PVCs from poor Nigerians are grave violations of the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the country’s international anti-corruption and human rights obligations.”
