By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that a former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu has decried the impact of vote buying in the ongoing elections in Niger State.
Aliyu stated this shortly after he cast his vote at the Audu Bunu Polling Unit in Minna, Niger State.
“When leaders fail, they should resign, otherwise, we will continue the dollar politics and continue to have bad leadership because few people will be voting for that leadership.
“Would you believe that in 2023, one Spaghetti and two yards of clothes will make somebody vote for a particular party? It happens and it happened even yesterday night.
“I was a civil servant relying on my monthly salary, if anybody had paid me 25 percent or 30 percent, I will vote that person out but if they don’t care or don’t know what suffering is, I will not be surprised by any other results, “Aliyu said.
Aliyu, while expressing dismay that politicians were trying to divide the country between religious lines urged Nigerians to avoid falling bait to such tactics.
“Whether you like it or not, non-Muslims may be up to 40 percent or 25 or even more but since the census cannot be able to capture that, we will be speculating.
“If we have a population like that, how can you say you are going to have a Nigeria with only one religion in the leadership setting?” he said.
According to him, the lapses of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have also fueled voter apathy in the ongoing elections in Niger State.
He said that the inability of the INEC to deliver on its promises of electronic transfer of results as well as the non-usage of BVAS in many areas in the state has made many Nigerians lose hope in the elections.
“With what happened with the results of the 2015 elections, we will not be happy because BVAS were supposed to be used but were not used. Even in Niger State, results came out that people were even more than the voting population.
“Therefore, if we see that the people don’t come out, it will be the result of what happened on the 25th,” he said.
