•Vote buying
As the Anambra Governorship election has come and gone, the allegations of vote buying have been rife, and this has led a group, Citizens Monitor, to warn that treating the issue of vote buying is dangerous to the development of democracy in the nation’s polity.
The group stated that treating vote buying as a normal feature in the nation would erode “the foundations of democracy in Nigeria.”
Olajumoke Alawode-James, the group’s spokesperson, today described the election as seemingly calm and orderly on the surface but tainted by widespread allegations of cash exchanges, voter intimidation, and subtle coercion at polling units, reports Daily Independent.
“Anambra has voted. On paper, the election looked calm and orderly. But from what many voters, observers, and online reports described, another story sits underneath: cash moving quietly, bags changing hands, and subtle pressure around polling units,” the statement read.
Citizen Monitors said the presence of orderly queues and functioning voting machines does not equate to a credible process if financial inducement remains unchecked.
“You can have neat queues, working machines, and signed result sheets, yet still run a process where the real contest is who can buy people’s despair the cheapest. When voters feel they have ‘no choice’ but to take money to survive, the ballot may be secret, but the will is already broken,” the organisation said.
Co-founder of the group, Adeshope Haastrup, was quoted as saying that accepting vote buying as routine would erode the foundations of democracy.
“We cannot pretend that normalised vote buying is democracy. If we quietly accept this pattern, we are not just electing leaders; we are choosing the kind of country our children must struggle in,” Haastrup said.
Meanwhile, opposition candidates, including the Labour Party’s George Morghalu and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), faulted the conduct of the exercise, alleging vote buying, underage voting, and other irregularities that they said undermined the credibility of the process.
The ADC particularly warned that if vote buying was not decisively addressed, it could pose a major threat to the 2027 general elections.
Citizen Monitors urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, and anti-corruption bodies to treat the reported cases as serious electoral offences rather than isolated incidents.
“Citizen Monitors calls on INEC, the security agencies, and anti-corruption bodies to treat what happened in Anambra as a warning, not a footnote. Allegations of vote buying, financial inducement, and intimidation must be openly acknowledged, investigated, and punished. Institutions of state must not, by silence or indifference, subtly legalise vote buying,” the statement said.
The organisation also called on Nigerians to reject monetary inducements and actively document irregularities during elections.
“If this election upsets you, don’t waste the anger. Turn it into a decision: I will not sell my vote. I will help record the truth. I will wake my street. We either all rise together, or we all sink together,” the group’s spokesperson, Olajumoke Alawode-James, said.
Citizen Monitors concluded that the Anambra election should serve as a warning ahead of the 2027 general polls, noting that citizens’ actions in the coming years would determine whether future elections reflect dignity or desperation.
“For Citizen Monitors, Anambra is not the end of a story; it is the start of a warning. What we all do between now and 2027 will decide whether the next elections are just another market day, or the moment Nigerians finally choose dignity over price,” the group said.
