The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has issued a firm warning against vote buying and selling in the upcoming Edo State governorship election.
This warning was delivered during a Town Hall meeting on voter sensitization held in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government, and at the Famcoop Hall, University of Benin, Benin City. Represented by Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Williams Oseghale, Head of the Public Affairs Department at the Benin Zonal Command, Olukoyede emphasized that vote buying and selling are criminal offenses under the Electoral Act.
Participants were urged to disseminate this information widely, as ignorance of the law is no excuse. “The law is against it. So stay away from it,” Oseghale stated emphatically. He highlighted that anyone found guilty of buying or attempting to buy voters’ cards faces penalties, including a fine up to N500,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
The EFCC also broadcast a recorded interview with Acting Zonal Director, ACE I Effa I Okim, detailing the consequences of vote buying, originally aired on the EFCC television program “The Eagle on Television.”
Ochre Eden Precious, Executive Director of YES Project Initiatives, who facilitated the program, reiterated the Town Hall’s goal: to motivate youths to fulfill their civic duties by registering to vote and to dissuade them from engaging in vote buying and selling in the forthcoming election.
