The Independent National Electoral Commission has responded to the allegations of voters inducement by a monitoring group YIAGA Africa.
INEC noted that the commission does not monitor the distribution of rice or bread to voters by political parties.
The Head, INEC’s Department of Voter Education and Publicity in Bayelsa State, Wilfred Ifogah, disclosed this to newsmen.
It could be recalled that The Executive Director, YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, had made the allegation in a statement.
Itodo said “INEC should come up with a robust mechanism and collaborate with both state and non-state actors to curb the menace of buying and selling of PVCs and other forms of voter inducement.
“Generally, voter inducement was reported in at least one in every three LGAs of the 21 LGAs in Kogi state, and in all the LGAs in Bayelsa states.”
In his reactions, the INEC’s head, Department of Voter Education and Publicity in Bayelsa State stressed that he wondered how voters could be induced when election has not been conducted. Adding that, he does not know how the group came about such findings.
Ifogah said “We still have some weeks to the election. I don’t know how YIAGA Africa came about that. Although they have their people on the field, they have not told us anything. People go out to campaign.
So whatever they do, I cannot really say.
“Even before the vote-buying syndrome, they used to give out commodities such as salt, rice and other things during campaign. May be that is what they are doing right now that YIAGA Africa is calling voter inducement.
“INEC does not track such things. YIAGA Africa is an independent group and so, whatever their findings are, we don’t know. The only thing I know INEC does is that whenever political parties are having their major rallies, they invite the commission to observe and see how they conduct themselves and take track of certain things they are doing. We track the finances of parties as well.”
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