The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, said operatives of the commission had been deployed nationwide to track down politicians who would buy votes in both cash and kind.
Bawa revealed that the operatives would generally monitor elections also said politicians had stashed cash ahead of Saturday’s elections with the intent to buy votes in cash and kind.
He disclosed this when he appeared on Channels Television’s election programme, The 2023 Verdict.
Bawa , urged citizens to report vote buying, selling, and other evidence of financial malpractices.
He said, “We have intelligence that a lot of politicians have bought some items that they will use to buy votes in kind and not in cash. But we are prepared for any situation and will not hesitate to arrest anyone caught in the act. We will watch out for all these things on election day.”
According to Bawa, public officials, corrupt businessmen and some governors were suspected to be hoarding old and new naira notes with the intent to buy votes during the presidential election scheduled to hold on Saturday.
The agency, he said, is aware of the tactics used by vote buyers and the commission’s operatives are prepared to handle any situation that may arise.
“I don’t want to say only governors are hoarding naira notes, there are public servants out there doing the same thing or some businessmen with questionable characters are still having these funds in their homes.
“So, I don’t want to say governors are these but I will say that public servants, either retired or serving and some businessmen with questionable characters are on our radar.
“The biggest hurdle is if Nigerians don’t buy into what we are doing but I believe once we are united, we would be able to take inadequacies out of our system,” he stated.
