NIGERIA'S Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) has warned that any political party or politician who uses religion during the course of their campaigns would be made to pay a N1m (£3,225) fine or face 12 months imprisonment.
On March 28, Nigeria will hold presidential, senate and House of Representatives elections, while on April 11, state governor and house of assembly polls will take place. With the race between the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) heating up, politicians on both sides have resorted to whipping up religious sentiments.
Vice president Namadi Sambo was recently caught campaigning in one instance, where he claimed that the APC had more Christian leaders than the PDP. There have also been accusations that the Christian Association of Nigeria (Can) received N7bn (£23m) from the PDP to campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan, although it has denied the accusation.
Eager to arrest the growing trend, Inec decided to issue the warning after fresh accusations that some politicians who were threatening PDP supporters in Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State based on their choice of presidential candidate. Emmanuel Umenger, the administrative secretary of Inec in Bauchi State, said the commission was against electioneering campaigns based on religious sentiments adding that any political party that was caught in the act will be prosecuted.
He added: “Section 102 of the electoral act as amended frowns against campaigns based on religious sentiments. Campaigns by political parties should be issue- based rather than along religious lines.
“The commission is equally against political parties intimidating the electorate based on their choice of candidates. Electorates are always at liberty to vote for any candidate they chose and should not be threatened because of their choices.”
Professor Hamman Tukur Sa’ad, the Bauchi State Inec chairman, condemned the intimidation of the electorate, saying that any threat to life or property should be reported to the security agencies. He warned against the politics of violence and urged local government authorities not to interfere in the electoral process.
