Voters in Nigeria’s recent state elections were reportedly offered up to 50,000 naira ($38) for their votes, raising concerns about electoral integrity ahead of the 2027 general elections, according to an EU-supported monitoring report released Wednesday.
The Election Observation Centre of the European Union Support Programme for Democratic Governance in Nigeria documented widespread vote-buying during gubernatorial elections in Ekiti State on June 20 and Osun State on August 15.
Presenting the findings in Abuja, Bolade Eyinla, a senior technical adviser to former electoral commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu, warned that increasingly organised vote-buying threatened voters’ freedom of choice.
In Ekiti, 77% of 84 verified electoral incidents involved vote-buying, with political party representatives implicated in at least 90% of documented cases. In Osun, reported payments ranged from 10,000 to 50,000 naira.
The monitors raised concerns over the apparent lack of arrests, investigations or prosecutions, warning that impunity could encourage further electoral offences.
The report called for stronger enforcement of electoral laws, investigations into vote-buying allegations and greater transparency in publishing results. More than 1,400 citizen observers from Nigerian civil society organisations monitored the two elections.
Despite the reported irregularities, observers praised the timely opening of polling stations and the close alignment between official results and independent assessments, urging authorities to address the shortcomings before the 2027 national polls.
