Electoral fraud: Buhari under pressure to crack down on PDP chieftains

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– The Osun state chapter of the APC warns that if electoral offenders are not punished, the nation’s democracy will collapse sooner than imagined

– The party says since the PDP came to power in 1999, electoral fraud in Nigeria has escalated exponentially into a major crisis for democracy
 
APC says electoral manipulation has always been a problem in Nigerian electoral system since independence.

The Osun state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to apply punitive measures against electoral fraudsters, most of whom are from the PDP, to save the country’s democracy from imminent collapse.

The director of publicity, of the Osun state APC, Barr Kunle Oyatomi, in a statement warned that if electoral offenders are not punished, the nation’s democracy which is already seriously at risk from massive corruption will collapse sooner than imagined, Vanguard reports.

The party spokesman gave the warning in reaction to recent revelations by the Ondo state resident electoral commissioner (REC) Olusegun Agbaje, that PDP chieftains had attempted to bribe him with N500 million when he was in charge in Osun state in 2014, so that he could rig the Osun governorship election in favour of the party.

Mr. Agbaje reportedly rejected the offer and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the people’s choice, won that election.

Though the APC noted that electoral manipulation has always been a problem in Nigerian electoral system since independence it, however, claimed that, “since the PDP came to power in 1999, electoral fraud in Nigeria has escalated exponentially into a major crisis for democracy.”

 “Except punitive measures are introduced and rigorously enforced against electoral fraudsters, this corruption will sooner than later kill our democracy. If those who try to rig elections have their way in whatever form, the corruption syndrome we are now addressing will only be suppressed, not eradicated,” the party warned.

Meanwhile, the national legal adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Muiz Banire, has reportedly denied being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly bribing a judge.

Banire, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was reported to have been invited by the EFCC for allegedly bribing Justice Terseer Agbadu-Fishim of the National Industrial Court to the tune of N500,000.

Leadership reports Banire as releasing a press statement in Lagos on Sunday, November 6 denying he was arrested and reminding Nigerians that he is a strong advocate of anti-corruption campaign who will not descend so low as to engaging in such act.

Source:  http://latestnaijanews.com.ng/electoral-fraud-buhari-under-pressure-to-crack-down-on-pdp-chieftains/