NIGERIANS, particularly voters have been advised to resist any inducement to sell their Permanent Voter’s Cards and votes for peanuts before and during the 2019 general elections.
The advice was given by stakeholders Forum made up of civil society organizations, political parties, aspirants, women and youth groups in Alkaleri and Dass Local Government Areas of the state during a sensitisation workshop held on Monday.
The workshop which was on strengthening youth and women inclusion in political participation, under the Nigerian Youth Inter-Party and Civil Society Forum, was sponsored by the Young Leaders Network and supported by National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The Young Leaders Network (YLN) is a Non-Governmental Organization out to create and strengthen youth engagement platforms to participate effectively in building a democratic culture in Northern Nigeria.
It is also out to advocate for justice, youth and women inclusion in governance.
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The stakeholders in their separate submissions in Alkaleri and Dass LGAs cautioned the youth and women against selling their votes pointing out that it amounts to selling their future.
Some of the discussants lamented the imposition of candidates on the electorates by “political godfathers” who have no regard for the needs of the people.
“We saw how people sold their votes at the Senatorial bye-election for as low as N50 in this very Alkaleri LGA, it is not a good thing. How can someone buy your four years with peanuts? It is pathetic,” Bappayo Abubabakar, a House of Assembly aspirant lamented.
He further lamented that political godfathers have taken over the electoral process saying that: “it is unfortunate that someone who has not been resident in a place for many years will just be brought and imposed on the people instead of allowing them choose the leader from among them.
“Someone who has not even lived in a locality will just be brought and imposed as the candidate of a party because he is wealthy or has a godfather, what do you expect when he wins?”
Another speaker, Mohammed Nasir said that votes were bought in the last Senatorial bye-election so as to protect Buhari’s interest adding that poverty and threats by employers were also factors that were responsible.
He alleged that: “voters were bought because Bauchi is an APC stronghold and that of the President, it would have sent a wrong signal if APC had lost in that election saying that, “Employees were threatened in the office to deliver their Polling Units or be sanctioned, and they had no choice but to induce the voters.”
The stakeholders in Dass LGA urged Nigerians to vote for leaders who are honest, trustworthy, compassionate and credible and not those who will only serve their pockets.
Also speaking, the Gender/Civil Society Organization Officer, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Bauchi Naomi Yusuf, called on youth to shun violence before, during and after elections.
She said: “violence is one of the things that is discouraging women from participating in the electoral process. When there is violence, they will feel scared to participate, so we are advising the youths to shun violence because it is not the best way of solving problems.”
In his address, the Project Manager, Young Leaders Network (YLN), Jeremiah Panshak Kassem, that the forum was aimed at educating women and youth on knowing their rights politically and said that the forum will form a coalition that will have a strong voice in the 2019 general elections.
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