Wednesday, July 22, 2026

OsunDecides: INEC vows to hand over vote buyers, sellers to police

INEC said that they were constitutionally empowered to report vote buyers and sellers to the security agencies and they’ll be arrested and prosecuted.

• July 15, 2022
Mahmood Yakubu
INEC chariman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned against money politics ahead of the Osun governorship elections on Saturday.

INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun, Professor Abdulganiyu Raji, gave the warning while speaking on Channels Television on Friday evening. 

“We have the power of the Constitution to hand over vote buyers and sellers to the police,” Mr Raji said. “We don’t have the power of arrest. We only tell the security agents that this person is running foul of the law and so he’ll be arrested and will be judged during the prosecution.”

Mr Raji’s comments follow the extension of the precinct of the polling units, previously at 10 metres and now stands at 300 metres. 

INEC had earlier identified vote-buying and insecurity as some of its major concerns ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in Osun. 

On Friday, Kimpact Development Initiative also highlighted vote buying as a predominant concern that may be observed across the state polls. Other concerns include cult clashes, attacks by political thugs and misinformation.  

Peoples Gazette had earlier reported that political parties had resorted to using food items and livestock to sway the electorate in its favour.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

United States President Donald Trump

World

U.S. judge orders Trump to release financial records sought by BBC

A court has ordered Mr Trump to produce the financial documents the BBC requested as part of the legal proceedings in his $10 billion defamation suit.

illegal refining sites

Economy

Navy uncovers nine illegal refineries in Rivers

Five newly excavated pits, prepared for imminent use, were also found and neutralised before they could become operational.

Cannabis

States

Alleged drug trafficker nabbed with 28 bags of cannabis in Katsina

The police command in Katsina arrested a 37-year-old suspected drug trafficker and recovered 28 bags of suspected cannabis from him.

Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi

Politics

Rigged 2027 presidential election could spell doom for Nigeria: Sam Amadi

“A rigged election in 2027 could be the trigger for a very devastating outcome for the country,’’ Sam Amadi warned.

Gombe governor Yahaya Inuwa

Politics

Gov Yahaya commends Ashaka Cement’s contributions to development of Gombe

Governor Inuwa Yahaya commended Ashaka Cement for its contributions to Gombe’s socio-economic development and industrial growth.

UNN building

Education

COREN inducts 250 UNN engineering graduates

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria on Tuesday inducted the maiden 250 graduates of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN).