I Did Not Distribute Money During 2012 Re-Election’ — Oshiomhole

Adams Oshiomhole, the former governor of Edo State, revealed that he did not give money to anyone in order to win his reelection in 2012.

He claimed to have publicly warned voters at the time that he would not stand for vote buying of any kind.

When discussing the delays in Nigeria’s electoral reforms in advance of the general election in 2027, Oshiomhole made the revelation on Monday in an interview on News Central’s Politics HQ.

He warned that vote buying and the manipulation of election results undermine the will of the people.

“I won every one of Edo State’s eighteen local government districts in my 2012 reelection. He answered, “I didn’t give money to anyone.”

He claims that at the time, he publicly informed voters that he would not engage in vote buying.

Instead, I told the voters that if my opponent had money to offer them, they could pick it up without a receipt or reimbursement. Oshiomhole remarked, “I will give you my all in terms of development, but I have no money to give you.”

According to the senator, a key component of democracy is the integrity of elections.

The beauty of democracy, he said, is to have the inner feeling that, out of the two hundred million people in your constituency, you have been selected by the state to use its resources creatively in order to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people. That is why he believes it is important for people to realize that the worst crime they can commit is to cheat on elections.

Vote buying and results manipulation are already clearly prohibited by current electoral regulations, according to Oshiomhole.

“Vote buying carries consequences. We have allocated funds for it. A presiding officer who knowingly works to subvert the electorate’s will or who willfully alters or destroys the ballot sheet in a way that tilts the results in favor of the loser faces consequences, he said.

He went on to say that fines are not the only punishment.

Oshiomhole stated, “And the penalty is not only monetary, but also a penalty for jail.”

He went on to say that everyone who engages in electoral misconduct faces consequences.