5th July, 2012
The Edo State Government has warned the electorate to desist from selling their voters’ cards, stressing that the action was criminal and an electoral offence.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole gave the warning in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria, in Benin.
The statement said that “in spite of repeated calls on people of the state not to sell their voters’ cards, some desperate politicians in the state had intensified efforts to mop up such cards.”
The governor said those engaged in such act were doing so by inducing the people with cash and other gifts.
The statement said that in some cases, the alleged buyers used “the name of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, as their sponsor with the sole aim of deceiving the people.”
It said the development was “frustrating the One Man, One Vote principle of the governor.”
The government advised the public, especially registered voters in the state, to ignore the lure of politicians involved in the criminal act of vote buying and stressed that voting was a civic responsibility.
Meanwhile, the Edo office of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has alerted the public of an alleged design by fraudsters using the name of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Kassim Gaidam, to extort money from candidates and politicians.
In a statement signed by the Head of Public affairs of INEC, Mrs. Priscillia Imoudu-Sule in Benin, INEC said some persons were attempting to extort money from candidates.
It said that “some fraudulent persons are sending text messages to gubernatorial candidates and politicians in the state “to extort money from unsuspecting politicians in the state.
“The commissioner hereby urges the public to take note and ignore such dubious text messages as it is meant to defraud unsuspecting members of the public, especially politicians.”