Politicians stockpiling old notes to buy votes – EFCC chair

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on Wednesday, raised the alarm over alleged plans by politicians to buy votes in kind and cash ahead of Saturday’s general elections.

He made the claim during an interview on Channels Television’s election programme, The 2023 Verdict.

The EFCC chairman, who confirmed that all of its officers had been deployed to monitor the polls across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, 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.”

Bawa further revealed that public officials, corrupt businessmen and some governors were allegedly hoarding old and new naira notes with the intent to buy votes during the presidential election scheduled to hold on Saturday.

According to him, the agency is aware of the tactics used by vote buyers and officials 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.