Natasha: People Could Be Bought During Signature Verification For Recall – Osaze-Uzzi

A former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Director of Voter Education, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, has said recall process costs so much money.

Naija News reports that Osaze-Uzzi said voters could also be bought during signature verification in a recall process, as politicians do during elections.

He stated this while analyzing the recall process INEC started against Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and other recall requests made to INEC against some federal lawmakers, with Arise News, on Tuesday.

The former INEC’s Director of Voter Education explained that both INEC and the lawmaker facing resignation would spend money in the recall process.

He noted that INEC would have to send staff for verification and such mobilization would require money. He added that the Senator would also spend money to mobilize her constituents to come and dispute their signatures gathered.

His words: “Money is necessary for recall processes. It’s a corruptive influence of money that we’re really talking about. INEC could spend a lot of money because it’s akin, if it goes through the whole process, it’s akin to conducting three elections. Because first of all, you have to get verification officers to go to the field. They have to verify signatures, and signatures have to be verified at the polling unit level.

“So they have to mobilize, go to the site, print materials, go to the site, and verify. And all the people who endorsed their signatures on the petition have to be present. So that’s the first thing. And don’t forget that I can’t recall any election where the 50% turned out. But now 50% plus one people, voters, have endorsed this petition. Now you are required to come to state that you have verified this.

“Now it takes logistics, so people have to be immobilized. INEC would immobilize, that’s money. And then the senator or the member, sort to recall, has to mobilize. And if the people, for example, if I did not endorse that, they may have to be immobilized. I have to go to that venue, the polling unit, and say, that’s not my signature. This is how I usually sign. See my ID card? See how I usually sign. This is not how I sign. I didn’t sign this petition.

“The people who seek to recall the legislator also have to go to the polling unit to ascertain that, yes, I did endorse this petition. This is me. This is my voters card. I did endorse it. So there’s mobilization. Ine could not have to demobilize. That’s money. And then on the part of both the petitioners and the legislators sought to be recalled, also have to expend quite a bit of money. And, of course, there’s the on-the-hand, where I term on-the-table money, bribery, as it were. Vote-buying, People who would buy vote, they also buy votes in a referendum.”