Gov Fintiri Axes NGOs Over Vote Buying Allegations

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has suspended the activities of local and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the State, accusing them of vote buying.

in a State-wide broadcast on Tuesday, the governor said the ban, which runs from the 29th of February 2023 to the 15th of March 2023, is over what he described as the NGOs’ “undue meddling in political affairs of the state”.

Governor Fintiri said reliable intelligence indicated that many NGOs are presenting their platforms as vehicles for political parties to distribute items in some Adamawa communities as inducement for vote buying and undue interference in the political process

According to him; “It has been discovered that most Non-Governmental Organizations have swallowed the bug and are dabbling into politics in the name of providing humanitarian assistance to the people. Government cannot fold its arms and watch such so-called NGOs mislead the people and inject divisive tendencies into their psyche.

“In view of the foregoing and in furtherance of our desire to reorder the electoral behaviour of our people and remove the influence of the NGOs who have reduced the statutory mandate to that of a vote-buying machine, the government has decided to suspend the activities of local and international Non-Governmental organizations throughout the State until 15th of March, 2023, when the elections are done.

“This is done in good faith and in furtherance of our desire to deepen our democracy and protect the humanitarian mandate of the NGOs. Let us learn to put the interest of the country above any other primordial interest. There is no time to waste. We all know the threats that further hesitation will bring.”

The Adamawa state governor while commending the people of Adamawa state for peaceful elections said; “The Presidential and National Assembly elections have come and gone but I must thank all our citizens for trooping out en-masse to exercise your civic responsibility.”

He said being the home of peace, the Adamawa people should continue maintaining the peace and remain law abiding because there is no election that is worth the life of any citizen.

Governor Fintiri further said; “Your conduct during and after the elections has been peaceful, orderly, exemplary, and commendable. This is the true reflection of Adamawa as the Home of peace and a bastion of democracy. I urge you to remain calm while we await the announcement of the final outcome of the exercise”.

However, he warned that the government will not hesitate to ensure miscreants face the consequences of their actions if they attempt to distrust existing peace across the State.