As the countdown to August 15 gubernatorial poll in Osun begins, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Thursday said its operatives would be deployed in all 30 local government councils and Area Office, to checkmate vote buying.

The Resident Anti Corruption Commissioner (RACC) for ICPC in Osun State, Yussuf Olatunji, made this disclosure in Osogbo during a sensitisation and awareness programme against vote buying and other electoral offences.

During the awareness programme, officials of the ICPC, accompanied by staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), staged a solidarity march from the popular Igbonna market to Alekuwodo area of Osogbo, campaigning against vote buying.

Addressing journalists on the sideline of the sensitisation programme, Olatunji said the gathering was to “send a clear a message to every citizen of Osun that our votes are priceless, our democracy is sacred, and our future must never be sold.”

According to him, “ICPC operatives and officers would be deployed in all the 30 local government councils and Area Office, in Modakeke to watch out for and arrest anyone who engages in vote buying and selling. Such individuals would be prosecuted in the court of law.”

“We all have a duty to protect the integrity of our electoral process by rejecting every form of electoral corruption, especially vote buying and vote selling. Vote buying and vote selling may appear to offer temporary financial relief, but they inflict lasting damage on our democracy.

“When votes become commodities, leadership becomes a transaction rather than a mandate. The consequences are evident: poor governance, unfulfilled promises, inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, unemployment, and declining public confidence in democratic institutions,” Olatunji remarked.

While contending that no amount of money is worth sacrificing quality education for our children, better healthcare, good roads, employment opportunities, and sustainable development, he explained that “every voter must understand that the money offered in exchange for a vote may be spent within a few days, but the effects of electing the wrong leaders may be felt for years.”

Olatunji, however, charged political parties and their supporters to conduct their campaigns with decorum and respect for the rule of law, pointing out that election should be contest of ideas, policies, competence, and character, not contests of financial inducement.