Tunde Bakare
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,has sought an enhanced collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the areas of intelligence sharing on electoral offences, sensitisation campaigns against vote trading and the prompt prosecution of electoral offenders.
The request was made on Friday, August 8, 2025, when the new INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kwara State, Hale Gabriel Longpet, paid a courtesy visit to the Director of Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Daniel Isei.
While disclosing that the visit was a demonstration of INEC’s commitment to partnering with the EFCC in a quest to deepen democracy, Longpet noted that credible elections required the efforts of all stakeholders towardsensuring transparency and accountability in the pre and post-election processes. He expressed optimism that with the EFCC’s support, incidences of vote merchandising and financial inducements on the electoral field would be drastically reduced in the country.
Isei in his response, commended INEC for its pivotal role in safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic processes and reaffirmed EFCC’s readiness to support the electoral body in ensuring free, fair, and credible elections in Kwara State, noting that the fight against corruption included curbing electoral malpractices such as vote buying, bribery, and other forms of financial inducement that undermine the integrity of polls.