A group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), on Sunday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order the arrest of politicians buying Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from poor voters.
SERAP in a statement by the Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, demanded President Buhari to “urgently direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to identify and arrest politicians who are allegedly buying permanent voter cards (PVCs) from poor Nigerians, and promptly bring them to justice.”
SERAP also demanded President Buhari to ensure that the politicians and their sponsors suspected to be involved in ‘grave electoral and human rights crimes’ are named and shamed, regardless of their political affiliations.
SERAP noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had made allegation of some politicians buying PVCs from poor Nigerians across the country, saying that the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) confirmed the allegation, revealing that some politicians are buying PVCs with N2,000 in the north.
The statement read: “Buying of PVCs from poor Nigerians is a threat to fair and representative elections, as it amounts to vote buying, undue influence and improper electoral influence.
“The allegations that politicians and their sponsors are buying PVCs from poor Nigerians are grave violations of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Electoral Act, and the country’s international anti-corruption and human rights obligations.
“The right to vote is central to the enjoyment of other basic human rights but the right will have little meaning if politicians and their sponsors continue to buy PVCs and get away with their crime against the Nigerian people.”