Ondo guber poll: Abdulsalami Abubakar asks politicians to shun vote buying

Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former military head of state, says politicians should end the practice of vote buying.

Abdulsalami, who is the chairman of the national peace committee (NPC), spoke in Akure, the capital of Ondo, during the signing of peace accord for the November 16 governorship election in the state.

Seventeen political parties participating in the election signed the peace accord.

Abubakar urged all the governorship candidates to accept the outcome of the election once it is adjudged free, fair, and credible.

He said any candidates who feels dissatisfied with the outcome could seek legitimate and peaceful means of addressing any concerns that may eventually arise after the exercise.

“I urge all politicians who will sign the accord to fully commit themselves and their parties to the letter and spirit of the accord to shun violence and intimidation and remember that as politicians, you must demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship, as that is a key trait of good leadership,” the former head of state said.

“It remains the duty of Nigerian citizens to elect their leaders free from any inducements or prejudice. Political actors must also discontinue this menace of vote trading.”

Abubakar asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to live up to its responsibilities in ensuring that eligible voters exercise their franchise peacefully.

He also commended the police and members of the inter-agency consultative committee on election security (ICCES) for maintaining peace and security ahead of the election.

“I therefore urge them to remain resilient in averting any threats of violence and maintaining the peace in the state as we are only a few days away from the elections,” he added.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC national chairman, commended the committee for its timely efforts in bringing parties and candidate together.

Yakubu, who said that seven peace accord had been signed in off cycle elections since inception 2020, called on religious leaders, traditional leaders, security agencies and others to join hand with commission for peaceful elections.

“To all political parties and candidates, singing of peace accord alone will not guarantee peaceful election. Peace accord is never ultimate but your commitment with implementation is crucial,” Yakubu said.

“So, you have signed the peace accord, you should commit yourself with implementation and pass the message to your supporter to complying to honour.

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo, and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), noted that the state has been peaceful prior to this time.

Aiyedatiwa promised that he would abide by the terms of the peace accord, urging the other co-contestants to ensure they play the game according to the rules.

“All stakeholders have been abiding by the rules of the game. I plead that they stay with the tenant of democracy. We will all abide by the tenet of the peaceful accord,” he said.

Elections will come and go, but the state will remain. During the election, we should remain peaceful and also after the election.”