The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been urged to track all money transferred 48hrs to election day through the commercial banks.

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Speak Out Africa Initiative, gave the advice on Thursday in Abuja.

Kenneth Eze, the executive director of the NGO, said this would help in possible identification of suspicious electronic money transfer from single source to multiple individuals as politicians had devised new means of vote buying.

“While the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) handle the physical aspect of vote trading, CBN should track all money transfers.

“We equally call on the Inspector General of Police to configure Polling Units’ security agent encryption where each assigned security agent to the polling unit will be held accountable for actions/inactions.

“Action such as vote buying and other vices, and such personal details should be given to the INEC staff in the polling unit to avoid impersonation for recognition,” he said.

Mr Eze said that the NGO had deployed about 1,405 election radar officers to monitor elections across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He further explained that those deployed would be indigenous voters of the assigned polling units for direct first-hand report from accreditation, voting and declaration of results.

“We have deployed radar officers across the country who will track, observe and report real-time incidences with accuracy as well as assess the overall mood of the citizens.

“They will also monitor movement of Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) materials so far in order to guarantee the credibility and fairness of the 2023 general elections,” he said.

He called on Nigerians to take their destiny by their hands and reject any attempt to arm-twist them through selling their votes for peanuts.

He equally advised Nigerians to come out en masse to go out and vote for candidates of their choice “as we birth a new Nigeria.”

“The daily upsurge of citizens trooping INEC designated centres to do Continue Voters Registration (CVR), collection of their Permanent voters card (PVC) or any electoral related activities is a litmus test that there is a great political awakening especially among the young people who constitute the largest voting population.

“The political landscape has taken a leap and will not remain the same again after the general election,” he added.

The executive director, however, commended INEC for its overall performance, “which could be rated well, except for few challenges, which needed reinforcement and improvement.

“The truth is that INEC has done appreciably well and some of her decisions taken in the buildup of this election have consolidated faith in its determination and capacity to conduct free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria against all odds,” he said.

(NAN)