…tells Lagos electorate, vote Buhari, get huge cash in return
By Mumini AbdulKareem
A national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been caught on tape canvassing for votes for President Muhammadu Buhari and the party in exchange for huge amount of money in the forthcoming general elections.
The incident reportedly took place last Thursday (Valentine’s Day) at his Bourdillion residence, Lagos.
Tinubu, in the leaked tape, also bragged that he had enough money to bankroll elections without requesting any money from Buhari or dipping his hands in Lagos State’s treasury.
This Day newspapers also reported the incident yesterday, in its Sunday Edition.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has vowed heavy clampdown on vote buying and vote selling offenders and assured that the commission is determined to put a check to the issue.
According to the transcript of the recordings obtained from an anonymous source who attended the meeting, Tinubu also mocked President Muhammadu Buhari saying he singlehandedly bankrolled his (Buhari’s) election and that the president lacks financial capacity to secure Lagos votes.
Some APC and opposition party leaders have faulted the support of the former governor of Lagos state for the re-election of President Buhari accusing him of nursing presidential ambition in 2023.
Before now, the APC leader had reportedly lamented alleged deliberate exclusion of his input by President Buhari in the present government.
Most of the names Tinubu had submitted to Buhari in the early days and midterm cabinet appointments were reportedly snubbed.
He allegedly expressed frustration and sidelining by the cabal in President Buhari’s government regarding his waning influence with his purported utterance that “this government stinks”.
In the leaked tape, Tinubu promised APC members “Good Money” to the deliver the party and re-emphasised his statement in Osun in the palace of the Ata-Oja of Osogbo that he is richer than the state.
Part of the transcript as published by the paper reads:
“For all those who have come to Bourdillon, you know why we are here. We are here for mobilisation. You know what I mean by mobilisation.
“So, as registered APC members, you have to go and get your neighbours to come out and vote for the APC. It is after I have seen the favourable results of the elections that I will bring out good money.
“Buhari does not have the money that I can embezzle and he doesn’t have the money I want to take from him. Also, he does not have the war chest for this presidential election.
“Therefore, whatever I’m promising you is for real – and it is coming from my own pocket. It is not until I go to Alausa before I can get money to give you.”
“Before now, party faithful would gather here around me like ants around sugar, asking for mobilisation. They always succeeded in getting something substantial from me with many of them from the same areas.
“That was then. This time it does not matter if your footwear wears out. Once you can deliver in this election, I am committed to give money that is substantial. We’ll never lack.” The maverick politician also stunned his supporters when he admitted demeaning the people of Osun State. Until now Tinubu had denied making any denigrating statements regarding the financial capacity of the state.
“I was called names (after making a misguided statement in Osun State during its governorship poll). I made a misguided utterance but I got away with it”.
Tinubu said he could not understand why some people in the state would complain about his choice of Aregbesola and later Oyetola.
“In Osun, they were grumbling that the governorship candidate in the last election was brought from Lagos; Aregbe (former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola) too was brought from there and now it’s (Adegboyega) Oyetola…they were complaining.”
He argued, “So, when we train your children; after training them, they get the knowledge and experience. They’ve acquired the know-how. Will it be bad for them to return home to fix things that are broken? How much really is your (Osun people) money that I want to embezzle? You (Osun people) don’t have the kind of money that I have. Their king was there seated when I said so.
“I said: ‘You don’t have the kind of money that I have.’ If I’m going to change your (Osun people’s) money it will be coins.’ I never knew I was being recorded and that was how the video went viral. For that reason, I have to be guided in my speech right now in order to avoid saying a similar thing today.”
The latest action of Tinubu according to anti-graft agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), amount to “Vote-Buying”, a term that gained popularity after the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections where voters were reportedly induced with huge cash to vote for candidates.
According to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Yobe State, Ahmed Makama, penalty for vote-buying as enshrined in sections section 139(a) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) states that any person paying money to another person as bribe at an election or buys his/her votes, shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N500,000 or twelve (12) months imprisonment or both.”
He further noted that section 124 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) states that person receiving any money or gift for voting or to refrain from voting at any election, shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N500,000 or twelve (12) months imprisonment or both.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has also described vote-buying as an act of corruption which the commission was committed to tackling.
Acting Chairman of ICPC, Dr Musa Abubakar made the declaration at a one-day ‘National Campaign Against Vote Buying and other Electoral Malpractices’ organised by ICPC in conjunction with the Youth Alive Foundation(YAF).
Represented by Shintema Binga, the Zonal Commissioner for South-West in ICPC, Abubakar said vote buying, which is a type of electoral fraud, takes the form of collecting payment from candidates after voting for them.
“Such payments are usually made through agents either directly or through phone transfers.
In the same vein, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched a massive campaign against the menace and urged Nigerians to report vote buying during the nationwide polls.
The commission on Friday released telephone numbers through which cases of electoral fraud could be reported promising “prompt response”.
