…Urges EFCC, ICPC, Police to Act Decisively Before 2027 Elections
The Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness (CCLCA) has expressed deep concern over what it described as “massive and unprecedented vote buying” during the November 8 Anambra State Governorship Election, warning that failure of law enforcement agencies to act decisively could spell doom for Nigeria’s democracy.
In an open letter addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, and signed by its Director General, Dr. Gabriel Chibuzor Nwambu, the CCLCA commended INEC for conducting an election that reflected the true votes of the electorate but lamented what it termed “a devastating failure in electoral law enforcement.”
According to the group, while INEC’s reforms—particularly the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and real-time result transmission via the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV)—have eliminated the era of result manipulation, they have inadvertently shifted electoral corruption to the polling units through direct voter inducement.
“Desperate politicians, frustrated by INEC’s sealed loopholes, have migrated their rigging tactics to the polling unit, engaging voters directly with cash incentives,” Dr. Nwambu said. “This perverse development is, ironically, evidence that INEC’s reforms are working, but it now exposes the failure of enforcement agencies to protect the sanctity of the vote.”
Field Observations
The CCLCA’s field observers reported that vote buying was openly conducted within the vicinity of polling units by agents of major political parties, notably the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). The report further alleged that some law enforcement officers were complicit, as their proximity to payment points and failure to act created an atmosphere of tacit approval.
The group also noted the absence of operatives from anti-graft agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), despite their statutory mandate to combat corruption and financial crimes.
The Enforcement Gap
The open letter decried the lack of arrests or prosecutions of those involved in vote buying, warning that such impunity would embolden political actors to entrench the practice.
“When offenders face no consequences, vote buying becomes institutionalized,” CCLCA warned. “It erodes accountability and turns elections into a marketplace, replacing leadership service with cash-and-carry democracy.”
Implications for Future Elections
The organization cautioned that unless immediate action is taken, the 2026 elections in Ekiti and Osun, as well as the 2027 General Elections, could witness a worsening of the trend. It predicted that political monetization would intensify, leading to increased voter apathy and a further breakdown of electoral integrity.
Recommendations
To safeguard the future of Nigeria’s democracy, CCLCA made several urgent recommendations:
- Immediate Prosecution: The EFCC and ICPC should investigate, arrest, and prosecute those involved in vote buying during the Anambra election, including party agents and financiers.
- Law Enforcement Redesign: The Inspector General of Police should review security deployment strategies to prevent collusion and protect voter secrecy.
- Public Declaration of Readiness: The EFCC and ICPC should issue clear operational strategies and establish Rapid Response Teams to monitor and arrest offenders during future elections.
- Civic Education: INEC, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders should embark on mass voter sensitization to discourage the sale of votes and restore confidence in democratic participation.
Dr. Nwambu concluded that while INEC has achieved significant progress in ensuring the technical credibility of elections, Nigeria’s democratic integrity now hinges on the ability of law enforcement and anti-graft agencies to protect the voter’s will.
“INEC has fixed the back end of our elections,” he stated. “The front end—the voter’s conscience—must now be defended before corruption completely overtakes our democracy.”
