A civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, has urged the Federal Government to criminalise electoral fraud to sanitise the country’s electoral process.The Executive Director, Samson Itodo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja. He stated that practices such as vote buying, violence, thuggery, and result manipulation had constituted a serious hindrance to electing credible political representatives in Nigeria.

He said: “What we are now seeing is people with purchasing power buying their way through during elections and the replacement of competence with mediocrity.

“Politicians now know the language of the people because they have weaponised poverty.” Itodo said the provisions in the Electoral Act that currently address bribery and conspiracy were insufficient to tackle the menace.

“I think we need to clearly outline and define vote buying and also prosecute the sponsors and their agents who are buying and selling votes.

“We also need to constantly reorientate people and explain to them why the politicians are buying votes,” he added.