Obi faults Reps for failing to criminalise vote-buying law

Obi

Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has criticised the House of Representatives over its refusal to criminalise vote-buying at the level of party primaries, describing the decision as a setback for Nigeria’s democracy.

Obi made his position known in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, reacting to the ongoing amendments to the Electoral Act, 2022, by the House of Representatives.

He said Nigerians had hoped the lawmakers would take a firm stand against vote-buying, which he described as a major problem undermining credible elections in the country.

“Just yesterday, Nigerians hoped that the House of Representatives would finally take a decisive stand against the cancer of vote-buying,” Obi wrote.

According to him, the decision not to criminalise inducement at party primaries showed that lawmakers were unwilling to confront the root of the problem.

“By refusing to criminalise vote buying at the foundational stage of party primaries, the House has chosen to protect a broken system rather than safeguard the nation’s future,” he said.

Obi argued that efforts to curb vote-buying would fail if the issue was not addressed from the beginning of the electoral process. Punch