ABUJA, Nigeria — Voters received as much as ₦50,000 to sell their votes during the 2026 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, according to the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Election Observation Hub.
The Hub disclosed that vote trading accounted for 77 per cent of 84 verified incidents recorded during the elections, with party agents identified as the main actors in at least 90 per cent of the cases.
Prof. Bolade Eyinla, who presented the Hub’s findings at the dissemination of its report on the Ekiti and Osun off-cycle elections in Abuja on Tuesday, warned that vote buying was becoming increasingly organised and posed a serious threat to voters’ freedom of choice.
“The scourge of vote trading is becoming a pandemic,” he said, adding that the practice was undermining the sanctity of the ballot.
“If we don’t do anything about it, the sanctity of the vote and freedom of choice is beginning to come under severe threat and pressure,” Eyinla said.
The Hub comprises the Kukah Centre (TKC), TAF Africa, Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre (IPC) and Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), reports Daily Trust.
Party Agents Linked to 90% of Cases
Eyinla lamented that vote trading had become highly organised and standardised, while the absence of reported arrests, investigations and prosecutions had encouraged a sense of impunity among those involved.
“Maybe the IG (Inspector-General of Police) will tell us if they are arrested. And the result of that is that everybody has assumed a sense of impunity,” he said.
According to the report, vote trading accounted for 77 per cent of the 84 verified incidents, while party agents were the main actors in at least 90 per cent of the cases.
In Osun State, vote trading accounted for 69 per cent of the verified incidents, Eyinla said.
He expressed concern that, despite the scale of the alleged malpractice during both elections, there had been no reported arrests, investigations or prosecutions.
How Voters Were Paid
Explaining how the practice operated, Eyinla said voters were sometimes required to demonstrate that they had voted as directed by those offering the money before receiving payment.
He said a voter would mark the ballot paper to indicate a preferred candidate and then display it to the people monitoring the transaction.
“And of course, once the agent confirms ‘he has done what we demanded’, payment follows,” he said.
Eyinla said he had initially expected the payments to be around ₦10,000 but was surprised by reports that some voters in Osun received as much as ₦50,000.
“Originally, I was thinking payment was within the range of 10,000 or thereabouts, but the report from Osun even told me that people got N50,000,” he said.
He questioned the scale of funds potentially involved in the practice when multiplied across large numbers of voters.
Hub Seeks Publication of Ward-Level Results
The election observation group also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish election results at the ward level to improve transparency and strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.
Eyinla argued that many electoral irregularities occurred at the ward level and that publishing results at that level would improve scrutiny of election outcomes.
“I think for the presidential election, it’s 8,809 (wards). We want to see the results of the ward level uploaded. If you can upload polling units, then you should be able to upload ward-level results,” he said.
Despite its concerns over vote buying, the Hub commended INEC for conducting what it described as a near-perfect election, noting that voting commenced early and the official results closely matched those independently compiled by observers.
It also praised security agencies for helping to maintain a peaceful atmosphere during the Ekiti and Osun elections.
More Than 1,400 Observers Deployed
The Executive Director of CEMESO, Dr Akin Akingbulu, said the Hub deployed 598 observers across Ekiti State’s 16 local government areas during the June 20 governorship election.
For the Osun governorship election held on August 15, the group deployed 823 observers across all 30 local government areas.
The combined deployment amounted to 1,421 observers, who monitored voting and reported incidents across polling units in both states.
“That is more than 1,400 trained Nigerians who watched, counted, verified and reported, polling unit by polling unit, so that the conversation we have today rests on facts and not on sentiment,” Akingbulu said.
