Poverty, Ignorance, Reasons For Vote Buying – Senatorial Candidate

The Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Anambra Central, Chief Kodilichukwu Okelekwe has identified poverty and ignorance as the main reasons vote-buying has been thriving during elections in Nigeria.
Addressing stakeholders of the zone as part of preparations for the 2023 general elections, Okelekwe regretted that many voters prefer the little amount handed to them during election to the dividends of democracy they would benefit from for four years.
According to him, the purpose of wanting to go to the senate is to help people, adding that having experienced abject poverty while growing up, he would do everything humanly possible to alleviate people’s suffering by attracting dividends of democracy to the area.
He said: “Vote buying is now an issue in election process, but we know that it is a passing phase. Before now, it used to be ballot box snatching, but innovation in election process by INEC has phased that out.
“Today, it is vote buying, and we know that it will stop some day. Vote buying is made worse by poverty and ignorance.
“It is surprising that many people do not consider the good education, quality healthcare and many other dividends that come from good governance, but will rather insist on collecting money to vote.
“I have analyzed the membership of our party in the state and found out that we have over 450,000 members, yet people have won governorship election in this state with less than 200,000 votes. So, why can’t APC win election comfortably in Anambra State?”
“We need to sensitize the people of the dangers of selling their votes because for every vote you sell, you are encouraging emergence of bad leadership and incompetent people.”