Naira scarcity: EFCC chairman, Bawa reveals how politicians are planning to buy votes

Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has claimed that some politicians intend to buy votes by distributing items rather than cash.

Bawa said on Channels Television on Wednesday that the anti-graft agency is ready to arrest anyone caught buying votes during Saturday’s elections.

Ahead of the general election, stakeholders have expressed concern that vote buying could undermine the election’s integrity.

When the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) implemented the naira redesign policy, it was seen as a way to combat vote buying.

In a recent address, President Muhammadu Buhari said the naira redesign policy has minimised the influence of money on Nigeria’s politics.

Speaking on Wednesday, the EFCC chair asked Nigerians to cooperate with the agency in addressing vote-buying.

“Of course, we have intel that a lot of people have bought some items that they want to use to buy votes in kind not in cash. All of these things are out there. We will watch out for [them],” he said.

“Politicians are also Nigerians. They are professionals and some of them turned into politicians. We (EFCC) have our own ways of doing our things.”

On the naira note scarcity, Bawa said some of the new naira notes were hoarded.

“Some of these monies that have been printed will all come out this Saturday after the election because some of them are hoarded and it will be distributed around,” he said.