Adams Oshiomhole, the former governor of Edo State, revealed that he did not give money to anyone in order to win reelection in 2012.
He claimed that at the time, he made it clear to voters that he would not stand for vote buying in any way.
In an interview with News Central’s Politics HQ on Monday, Oshiomhole revealed the information while discussing the postponements in Nigeria’s electoral reforms in the run-up to the general election in 2027.
He warned that vote buying and the manipulation of election results undermine the will of the people.
“I won every one of the eighteen local government districts in Edo State during my 2012 reelection. “I didn’t give anyone money,” he declared.
He claims that at the time, he made it clear to voters that he would not engage in vote buying.
“Instead, I told the voters, if my opponent, who allegedly had money to give you, you can collect it, no receipt, no refund. Oshiomhole remarked, “But I have no money to give you, but I will give you my all in terms of development.”
According to the senator, a key component of democracy’s value is election integrity.
“I believe it is about people realizing that the worst thing you can do is to cheat in elections because democracy is about having the inner sense that, out of the two hundred million people in your constituency, you have been selected by the state to use its resources creatively in order to provide the most benefit to the greatest number of people,” he said.
Vote buying and result manipulation are already clearly prohibited by current electoral laws, according to Oshiomhole.
“Vote buying carries penalties. We have budgeted for it. A presiding officer faces consequences if they intentionally behave in a way that subverts the electorate’s will or tampers with or destroys the ballot sheet in a way that tilts the results in favor of the loser, he stated.
The penalty is more than just fines, he continued.
“And the penalty is not only monetary, but also a penalty for jail,” Oshiomhole said.
He added that everyone who engages in electoral malpractice faces consequences.
