A group of concerned Nigerians under the name
Project Nigeria First (PNF) has vowed to take the case of votes buying to the
International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherland, saying if the president
and the governors are aware that vote buying can be traced to them and punished
by the ICC for crime against humanity, they would no longer support it.
The National Coordinator of PNF, Nya Etok, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday while
addressing journalists on the danger vote buying could cause Nigeria and the
African continent.
He said Nigerian politicians are no longer afraid
of the Nigerian judiciary, but if they know that vote buying, which is a crime
against humanity at the ICC, can be traced to them and punished for it, they
will no longer encourage it.
According to the coordinator, "I have decided
with a few like-minded people, who were part of the last election and others
who were not part of the election, to take the issue of vote buying to the
highest level, not in this country, but at the ICC.
“Because vote buying is a crime against humanity
and we want to make it such that any president who can be traced directly or indirectly
to vote buying but dodges the law in Nigeria, will not be able to dodge the law
at the international level.
“Vote buying is worse than corruption. If we don't
address it, Nigeria will not only be a problem to itself but to the African
continent. Vote buying is the monster that will consume Nigeria and Africa.
“Voting buying must be stopped because it is worse
than Boko Haram, killer herdsmen, kidnapping and militancy put together because
all of these can be addressed through institutional frame works, but vote
buying compromises institutions as it brings the money bags into government.”
According to him, political parties have become
agents who only exist just to make money during elections, adding that they
sell forms and endorse other political parties’ candidates.
He also talked about fundamentals of which are
absent in the country.
"Social Governance is a bottom-to-top and people-centred
approach to governance and development, with the primary objective of bringing the
citizens out of poverty.
“It aims to recreate/expand the middle class, not
by pulling the rich down, but by pulling the poor up through the provision of
qualitative and affordable education, healthcare, housing, and other social
infrastructure.
"An ideology encourages, promotes and lays more
emphasis on Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises and cottage industries
above the big industries,” he further stated.
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