Reps member Awaji Inombek-Abiante says vote buying will fail if Nigerians choose candidates based on conviction, not inducement

A lawmaker representing Andoni/Opobo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Awaji Inombek-Abiante, has said voter inducement would be ineffective if citizens are determined to vote according to their convictions.

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Inombek-Abiante made the assertion on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, while responding to concerns about vote buying in Nigerian elections.

“How do you stop vote buying? If the citizens decide to elect who they believe in, inducement or no inducement won’t matter much,” he said.

The Rivers State lawmaker noted that his experience observing elections in some ECOWAS countries showed fewer challenges compared to Nigeria, attributing local problems largely to a deficit of trust in the electoral process.

“There is a deficit in the trust level; that is why somebody will go to vote, and another person will want to inflate figures at the polling unit,” he explained.

He warned voters against accepting inducements, stressing that short-term gains often lead to long-term consequences.

“If somebody comes and gives you money or induces you with material things, you go and vote and you don’t believe in the ideology of that person; it’s just for that moment, and you will suffer the consequences for a very long time,” he said.

Calling for a shift in civic values, Inombek-Abiante urged Nigerians to build personal integrity and reject vote buying voluntarily, rather than relying solely on laws and enforcement.

“As Nigerians, I think we should build our integrity to the point that we reject these things on our own, not because it is in any act or law,” he stated.

He also emphasized the need for safeguards that ensure credible candidates emerge based on competence and public support, not financial power.