The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr John Nwosu, in the Nov. 8 governorship election in Anambra has described the act of citizens purportedly making donations for the re-election of the incumbent governor as worrisome.
Nwosu in a Statement in Awka on Sunday said that the practice raised a serious question in relation to the nation’s electoral laws and moral codes.
The ADC candidate said this while reacting to reports that communities were allegedly making donations to the incumbent and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as a show of endorsement ahead of the poll.
According to him, I am aware of reports that some groups and towns have made humongous donations to the candidate of APGA in purported support of his campaign.
“Such donations raise real concerns about compliance with the Electoral Act, morality, and the rule of law,” he said.
Nwosu said that while individuals were free to support candidates of their choice, any form of quid-pro-quo arrangement, such as inflated contracts with kickbacks disguised as campaign donations would amount to corruption and criminal subterfuge.
He questioned reports that certain local governments had joined in the donations in spite of having “little to show for the funds received from the federal government”.
“If cash-strapped local governments are donating millions to the governor’s campaign, that is a charade and a blatant display of official dishonesty,” he said.
Nwosu said the APGA-led government was tacitly buying votes and deceiving the public in their campaigns.
“At no time in Anambra’s political history have we witnessed such open desperation to manipulate the voting public.
“I urge the electorate to reject inducements and defend their democratic rights; those who sell their votes are selling their patrimony, freedom, and future.
“Elections should be won by popular choice, not through purchased loyalty,” he said.
He called on the electorate in Anambra to vote for the ADC for the restoration of honesty, fairness, and people-centered leadership in government.
Reacting to the ADC statement, Dr Law Mefor, Commissioner for Information in Anambra defended the donations, describing them as a crowd funding system and part of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo’s disruptive change.
Mefor said the voluntary donations which came from students, market associations, communities and senatorial districts were evidence of the acceptance Soludo’s candidacy enjoyed among the people.
“It is different from the past when governorship candidates offered money to groups and communities in search of votes,”he said.
