Governor Willie Obiano cast his vote this morning in Anambra East local government area and after voting used a loud speaker to address the crowd, reportedly making political statements about why the people should reelect him. He also said: “If you look around, you will see that there is peace and tranquility everywhere. I urge all my supporters all over Anambra state to please come out and diligently stay on the queue and vote. At the end of the day, their votes will count and the numbers will be counted.”
This account was given by Abiola Akiyode of the Transition Monitoring Group to a Lagos TV station. Obiano seemed unaware that addressing a crowd at a polling unit infringes on Nigeria’s electoral act.
Section 129 states: No person shall on a date on which an election is held do any of the following acts or things in a polling unit or within distance of 300 metres of a polling unit:
a) Canvass for votes
b) Solicit for the vote of any voter
Obiano was also known to distribute loaves of bread and bags of rice during this campaign. Those inducements also contravene the electoral act.
