Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday in Abuja, expressed concern over increased incidences of vote buying in the country, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Jonathan expressed his concern at the public presentation and formal launch of his book – My Transition Hours.
He said that vote buying, which was gradually replacing other forms of electoral malpractices, had become scandalous and placed the country in bad light.
He pointed out that voters inducement through engraving of pictures of candidates and political party logos on gift items during elections was another rampant strategy of vote buying.
He advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to borrow a leaf from other African countries and create polling centres in public places such as schools where classrooms were used for voting to make it difficult for vote buying.
He explained that the book he launched was essentially an account of happenings during the 2015 general elections and the events that made him to place a phone call to President Muhammadu Buhari, which doused tension and ensured peaceful transition from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Party (APC).
The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, saluted Jonathan for his statesmanship, sportsmanship and uncommon courage of conceding defeat to Buhari in 2015 when collation was still on.
Saraki said that the act of accepting defeat by Jonathan helped to stabilise the already charged political atmosphere during the elections.
He recalled how Jonathan used to vow that his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian and called on political leaders to toe the same path and should not look at elections as declaration of war as the 2019 polls approached.
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