The Anambra State government has defended the monetary incentives pledged by Governor Chukwuma Soludo ahead of the November 8 governorship election as a strategy to boost voter turnout rather than an act of vote-buying.
In an interview with NewsNGR, the Anambra Commissioner of Information, Dr Law Mefor, refuted claims that the governor’s incentive would amount to vote buying.
Soludo, during a campaign in Umunze, Orumba North Local Government Area, at the weekend, explained that similar pledges were made before the Senatorial By-Elections held in the state on August 16.
He reiterated the promise of financial rewards to wards with the highest number of votes for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Quoting him, “When we were campaigning for the Senate, we knew we were going to win every ward in the South Senatorial Zone, but we still had some incentives. Any ward that APGA won received N1m, and we won all the wards in Orumba South.
“We promised each of these wards N1m and next week, we will redeem it. The ward that comes first will get N5m, the second N3m and the third N2m.
“That was the deal. For November 8, any ward that wins again will receive N1m, while the first three performing wards will get N5m, N2m and N1m respectively.”
His remarks have, however, elicited backlash from opposition parties, who described the move as vote-buying, contrary to Section 124 of the Electoral Act 2010, which categorises vote-buying as bribery and conspiracy.
Reacting, however, Mefor told THE WHISLTER: “The governor has sparked competition among his own supporters through these extrinsic rewards.
“Mind you, he didn’t say he would reward those who would vote for APGA or for Soludo. No. The beneficiaries of the larger turnout could be opposition candidates. (sync)
“Anambra has witnessed massive voter apathy over the years. This is a solution. Let voter turnout be rewarded regardless of who they would vote.
“The governor has provided a solution again to voter apathy in Anambra state.”
Meanwhile, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party and African Democratic Congress (ADC), among others, have pledged to escalate the matter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for appropriate action.
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