BY CAROLINE AMEH
AWKA — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued a strong warning against vote buying ahead of the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State, stressing that the Commission will not tolerate any breach of electoral integrity.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the warning on Tuesday in Awka during a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), where he reviewed the Commission’s readiness for the polls.
Amupitan reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to credible and transparent elections, noting that the Commission had concluded statewide readiness assessments and logistics arrangements, including hiring 200 buses and 83 boats to move electoral materials and personnel.
He announced an extension of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection from Wednesday, October 29, to Sunday, November 2, 2025, after reports showed that only 63.9 percent of registered voters had collected their cards.
The INEC boss also disclosed that while network issues were observed during mock accreditation in 12 polling units across six local governments, necessary technical measures had been taken to guarantee seamless BVAS performance on election day.
Amupitan urged political parties, candidates, and voters to shun inducement and illegal campaign practices, warning that the Commission and security agencies would enforce “zero tolerance” for vote trading.
“We must work together to eliminate the menace of vote buying. Security agents cannot allow vote buyers to operate on election day. The integrity of our democracy depends on it,” he said.