Quote:The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) says a political party is bribing officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kogi state with up to $1,000 to buy them over and get them to do their bidding on election day.

In a statement issued on Friday, CDD said trained observers deployed in different parts of the state confirmed the information.

It said some bureau de change (BDC) operators within the state have “witnessed an upsurge in the number of customers calling to change USD1000 to Naira.”

“There are indications that a lot of money has been set aside for vote buying on Saturday. Already, our observers have noted the distribution of gift items such as ankara textile materials and rice in Lokoja and Koton Karfe local government areas,” CDD said.

“The use of financial inducement to subvert the credibility of the electoral process is antithetical to the democratic ethos.

“CDD condemns in the strongest possible terms all forms of inducement of poll officials. The Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) expressly frowns at bribery and all forms of inducement of poll officials.

“CDD calls on the anti-corruption agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to thoroughly investigate these reports in order to hold to account the perpetrators of these electoral crimes.”