The Nation

Paying party agents on election duty not voter inducement, says NNPP chieftain

February 20, 2023 12:38 pm

PIC.43.VOTERS QUEUE TO CAST THEIR VOTES DURING THE GOVERNORSHIP AND STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN JOS ON SATURDAY(11/4/15). 1942/11/4/2015/SAA/CH/NAN

Ladipo Johnson, a chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), says paying party agents who are on duty during elections is not voter inducement.

Speaking on Monday on Channels Television’s “the 2023 verdict”, Johnson said it is now normal for parties to pay agents during elections.

“Paying agents at the polling units is almost normal now, in any country. For instance, in the United States, they pay their canvassers,” Johnson said.

“You have someone sitting there for God knows how many hours and you expect that person to come out with a result sheet, you expect that person to object to anything funny at the polling units, so, most times, you do pay them.

“There are people who will tell you I’m a member of this party, I don’t want it. But unfortunately for us, after the seven or eight years now, Nigerians are more impoverished than ever.

“So, you’ll find people who say to you that: ‘Yes, I’m a member of this party but if I can get a stipend for sitting down in one place for seven hours and being your eyes, so be it’. That’s different from inducing me to vote for you. Totally different.”

He said part of the money the party made from the sale of forms to candidates “will be used on logistics on election days either to get your people to the collation centre or what have you, to operate situation room, wifi, etc”.

Johnson also predicted that there would be a run-off poll after the presidential election, adding that Rabiu Kwankwaso, standard bearer of the NNPP, would get 25 per cent of votes in at least two-thirds of all the states of the country including the federal capital territory (FCT).

“All the states in the North-West, especially of course, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, then you begin to go to the North-East: Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, places like that. Go to the North Central as well,” he said.

“The volume of votes you will get in those places will be way above the volume of votes that any candidate will bring on the table. If we get the five states in the south, then it is game settled. If we don’t then, with the volume of votes, then, it will go to a run-off.”