Vote buying will entrench poverty – Cleric

A cleric, Rev. Pam Victor of Zatum Baptist Church Television Kaduna, said on Saturday that vote buying would only entrench poverty in the country, as those facilitating the act would only enrich themselves to the detriment of national growth and development.

NAN reports that the Reverend made the assertion in a paper on ‘Ills of vote buying in Election’, presented at a sensitisation seminar against vote buying, organized by an NGO, Cogent Watch, in Kaduna.

“ones you sell your vote it’s like selling your future; it’s really degrading, because the man that buys your vote will make sure he recovers his money from the public treasury.

“This act makes politicians to be unfaithful to the people by delaying projects just to recover the money spent to get votes,” he said.

He therefore cautioned the electorate not to be deceived, but hold on to their voter’s cards to elect credible government that would work for the collective interest of the country.

Victor also cautioned the youths against all forms of violence especially during elections, adding that “violence is not a solution to Nigeria’s problems.”

He called on Nigerians to be patriotic by learning from the sacrifices of Nigeria’s founding fathers, and encourage the present leaders to do the right things.

In his remark, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, attributed the phenomenon of vote buying to poverty and ignorance, which politicians capitalize on to deceive the people.

According to him, to curtail the situation, government must meet up to its responsibilities of improving the nation’s economy to provide life changing opportunities for all.

He added that having more enlightened and educated people in the society would also help to eliminate the menace

On his part, the President, Cogent Watch, Abdullahi Adamu-Fari, said the forum was to bring positive contribution to Nigeria’s political development especially now that elections are around the corner.

He noted that knowledge work hand in hand with development, as such the youth should remain focused and not allow themselves to be used negatively by politicians.

“Why imprison our minds while we are not slaves, the only way to be victorious at the face of these challenges is to strive towards achieving an educated and enlightened society, “he said.

He said youth should not continue to fold their hands behind the scene, but strive to positively change the narrative.