Vote Buying: Set up mobile courts to prosecute offenders — Oyeweso

A renowned scholar, Prof. Siyan Oyeweso, on Wednesday called for the establishment of special mobile courts for the prosecution of people arrested for vote buying.
Oyeweso, an African Democratic Congress House of Representatives candidate for Ede/Egbedore/Ejigbo constituency, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to rise up against the menace of vote buying and money politics to ensure credible elections.
He said: “On vote buying, INEC must be seen to be fully in charge to use mobile courts to try vote buying offenders.
“People who are likely to compromise the security of election, people who are likely to influence votes through vote buying, should be prosecuted when caught.’’
He said that there was need to continue to raise awareness among Nigerians to eradicate the menace of vote buying and money politics, which, he noted, was caused by poverty.
Oyeweso, a former Dean of Faculty of Arts, Lagos State University, said: “Vote buying, money politics, remain a central issue in our politics, we need to sensitize the people, poverty is the source of all issues.
“The politicians have ensured our people are perennially poor, they have underpaid them; in fact President Buhari recently told the public, that `don’t elect governors who cannot pay salaries.”
The Executive Director, Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding also said that INEC must explore the strength its professionals to resolve issues of electoral security.
He urged the electoral body to deploy more personnel to the rural areas with huge number of voters in order to collate results on time.
The renowned academic said he was going into politics for public good and advised politicians to shun electoral violence and make progress of the nation a priority.
He said: “Politicians must learn to be law abiding, must learn to conduct themselves peacefully, we have seen elections in other places conducted very peacefully, Nigeria is one big country, we must set example, we must be a role model for other African countries.’’
He called for prosecution of all politicians who used thugs or other means to perpetrate violence during the elections.
He also called for effective lobbying without compromise between the executive and legislative arms of government to attract development to the nation.
According to him, effective lobbying without compromise was needed for effective governance.
He said: “Any successful legislature must interact, must lobby across political parties if it is going to make any meaningful impact.’’
The ADC candidate said that he would engage in effective lobbying and collaborate with other political parties to attract development to his constituency which had large infrastructure deficit.
He stressed the need to reduce cost of governance and called for healthy partnership between the legislature and executive arm of government for the overall growth of the nation.
He also called for restructuring of the nation by revisiting the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference to ensure rapid development.
He said: “Let’s take a look at the 2014 CONFAB, don’t confine it to the dustbin of history. Let’s have the best of it and look at it again, if we do this, we will be able to make a significant step to the future.”
Responding to allegations of shunning a recent election debate on a radio station in Osun, Oyeweso explained that the media outfit did not capture all contestants across political parties to ensure fairness to all.
He expressed support for part-time legislation to cut down the cost of governance.