ENUGU—THE Nigerian Bar Association Election Working Group, NBA-EWG, has issued its preliminary report on the just concluded Anambra State governorship election, saying that most of the voters were induced with money to vote for the candidates. The “Preliminary Report of the NBA-EWG,” was jointly signed by its chairman, Festus Onuma Okoye and the Secretary, Lema Sambo Wali and made available to Vanguardyesterday. The NBA-EWG lamented that the vote buying occurred within polling or voting centres as well as the brazen manner in which political parties flaunted money on the voters.

“Money played a significant role in the choice of voters during the election. Some of the political actors distributed money to the voters at the precinct of the polling units.

NBA-EWG observed the inducement of voters at the precincts of the polling units and the brazen manner some political entrepreneurs carried out the exercise,” the report said and advised the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue an advisory to the Nigerian Police, “directing them to arrest anybody that induced voters at the precincts of the polling units without waiting for directives from the Presiding Officers.” The NBA-EWG further noted that the use of card reader to authenticate the true personality of eligible voters had not improved due to the problems which had not been rectified since noticed during the