The candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party, Olamide Falana, has urged voters in Ondo State to resist financial inducements as the governorship election slated for November 26 approaches.

Mrs. Falana, the only woman on the ballot, said on Monday in Akure that the negative political habit, which she described as “transactional voting system,” was fast becoming a prevailing culture in elections in the country.

She attributed the practice of buying votes at polling units on Election Day to the endemic poverty in the society.

“This negative culture finds its root in the prevailing poverty of the people who have been impoverished by poor government economic policies and leadership at the various tiers of government,” Mrs. Falana said.

“Indeed, this practice is negative, totally unsustainable and evil. It is such that will ensure the people are forever at the mercy of the money-bags whose only interest is to attain power and not the overall development of the people.

“The show of wealth equally encouraged by some political parties during party primaries goes on to tell of their readiness to buy their way to Alagbaka.”

According to her, the youth must realize that this political practice was indeed politics of exclusion and a deliberate plot to take leadership away from the reach of the honest, purposeful and determined youths.

She said vote buying disenfranchises resourceful and visionary youths, “who will never be able to gather the huge amount of money being sunk into the electoral process by people who joined the political class at little or no cost at the beginning of this Republic.”

She urged stakeholders to rise up to the challenge so as to stamp out monetary inducement in the forthcoming governorship election.

“I therefore call on all well meaning indigenes of Ondo State, all religious and academic institutions as well as the traditional leaders to caution their constituents from collecting money and other incentives from political parties and politicians in exchange for their votes in the November polls,” she stressed.

“Voters must be conscientised to use civil engagement and dialogue to demand developmental projects that are long lasting from the politicians while voting for true representation and good governance.”