"No electoral thief will go unpunished in Oyo" - REC warns

The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has warned all partakers in electoral process to shun any dastardly act capable of disrupting its effectiveness of the forthcoming general elections.

Legit.ng regional reporter in Oyo, Imran Khalid, reports that this was made known on Monday, January 21, by Mutiu Agboke, the Oyo state Resident Electoral Commission (REC), adding that any offender caught violating the smooth running of the electoral activities would be severely and legally dealt with.

Speaking on a radio station in Ibadan, Premier FM 93.5 on a programme tagged: "INEC's maiden edition half hour", Agboke, warned all partakers in electoral process to ensure they carried out their duties in line with procedures and guidelines slated for its effectiveness and efficiency.

He said the electoral umpire has partnered with National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the thirty- six states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with core responsibilities of enlightening and orientating the eligible voters on what they were expected to do before, during and after they had exercised their franchise.

Agboke said that the people of Oyo should make themselves available to the programmes pertaining to election that would be organising by the NOA in the respective local governments, federal constituencies, senatorial districts and state as a whole with a view to having access to vital pieces of information regarding the process.

On vote buying, Oyo REC warned the politicians aiming at inducing the voters with material gifts, cash and compensations in any form to desist from it at polling units, warning that politicians, law enforcement agents and INEC officials caught engaging in an illicit act would not be spared but brought before the temple of electoral justice and punishments.

Agboke said with reference to INEC's pronouncement, election would start by 8am till 2pm on February 16 and March 2, when both presidential and National Assembly and governorship and House of Assembly elections would be conducted respectively.

He said INEC had stated the guidelines and procedures for the election, adding that all the eligible voters, law enforcement agents and INEC's officials were allowed to stay conveniently at the polling units as any other apart from the mentioned ones negating the procedures and conditions for voting.

He reiterated that money or material gifts in any form should not be shared at the polling units and that people should not take phones and most importantly the camera ones to the voting cubicles and the youths should desist in spreading fake results before INEC officially announces results.

He enjoined those that have not collected their permanent voters' cards to go to their respective wards and have the cards collected.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disclosed that it uncovered plans by some politicians to use food vendors around polling units for vote-buying in the forthcoming general elections.

The chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said this when he received a delegation European Union (EU) observation team, led by chief observer, Maria Arena, on a visit to INEC on Monday, January 21, in Abuja, The News Agency of Nigeria.

Yakubu told the EU delegation that political actors planned to use food vendors around polling units with large voter populations as collection points for cash-for-votes as well as other forms of material inducement to voters on election day.