By Kayode Olabanji, Okitipupa

Politicians have been urged to desist from vote buying and allow voters to freely choose who will govern them.

According to some stakeholders who spoke with our correspondent in Okitipupa, vote buying is a clog in the moving wheel of development in Nigeria.

Prince Lawson Akintokun, a legal practitioner and public affairs analyst, who frowned at vote buying, described it as the practice of offering money, goods, or services to individuals in exchange for their vote in an election.

Akintokun added that vote buying is an electoral fraud that undermines the principles of free and fair elections.

He stated that vote buying skews election outcomes, allowing those with financial resources to manipulate results, leading to unrepresentative governance.

He therefore advised politicians to desist from such acts and allow the free will of voters to prevail.

“Vote buying must be discouraged in its entirety. Electorates should look out for party manifestos and the antecedents of candidates vying for election.

“For instance, the track records of His Excellency Mr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa are there for all to see. That is why the entire state has adopted him as their sole candidate for the forthcoming election,” Akintokun stated.

Similarly, Mr. Adeleke Ogunfeyimi, a lecturer at Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH) in Okitipupa, expressed dismay at vote buying, describing it as the act of influencing electoral participants in one’s favour by giving money and gifts to buy the conscience of voters.

“Vote buying comes in different ways. The most well-known one is the giving of money and gifts, usually a day before the election, on election day, or a few days after election day(s).

“The second type of vote buying is the one we do not usually notice. This type of vote buying occurs years or several months before any election. However, it often goes unnoticed. Someone may erect a borehole, solar lights, or a town hall in a street. Some may organise sports competitions. Others may start an NGO or philanthropic programme that would go on for some years before any election. I call it vote-buying bait. Very often, we don’t know that’s what they are doing.

“The third type of vote buying is using state power to your favour before, during, and/or after elections. This is usually what electoral umpires and judges enjoy.

The effect of vote buying is national, provincial, and individual. Sometimes it’s negative, sometimes positive. However, its negative consequences absorb the positive ones. Usually, it impoverishes both the buyers and the sellers, and ultimately, society.”