The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Election Observation Hub has stated vote buying and selling throughout the Ekiti and Osun states governorship elections was rampant, with voters rewarded closely for promoting their votes.
The Hub, established for election monitoring, is made up of the Kukah Centre (TKC), TAF Africa, Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre (IPC) and Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO).
Speaking on the presentation and dissemination of the report on the Ekiti and Osun Off-cycle Elections (which occurred in June and August, 2026, respectively) in Abuja on Tuesday, Prof. Bolade Eyinla, who learn the findings of the Hub, stated voters acquired as much as N50,000 for promoting their votes.
“The scourge of vote trading is becoming a pandemic,” he stated, including that, “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.”
Prof. Eyinla lamented that vote buying and selling has change into extraordinarily properly organised and standardised, stressing that offenders stay unpunished.
“Maybe the IG (Inspector-General of Police) will inform us if they’re arrested. And the results of that’s that everyone has assumed a way of impunity.
“The information reveals us that 77% of the 84 verified incidents had been vote buying and selling, and get together brokers had been the primary actors in at the very least 90% of those circumstances.
“In Osun, it was 69%, and as I said, we still have not heard of any reported arrests, investigations, or prosecutions, given the magnitude of vote trading that went on in both elections.”
Describing the way it was carried out, he stated the voter marks the poll paper to indicate his choice, however he then brings it as much as present the people who find themselves making the tally.
“And in fact, as soon as the agent confirms ‘he has done what we demanded’, fee follows.
“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. If you divide N50,000 by the number of voters in Osun, how much that will amount to in terms of the volume of money involved,” he stated.
The Hub additionally referred to as for the presentation of outcomes from the ward stage, noting that many of the irregularities are finished at that stage.
“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 argued.
However, the Hub recommended the Independent Electoral Commission for organising a near-perfect election, noting that the election began early and the outcomes had been virtually the identical as these independently compiled.
It additionally recommended the safety businesses for guaranteeing a peaceable ballot in Ekiti and Osun.
Dr Akin Akingbulu, the Executive Director, Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), in his remarks, stated the Hub deployed 598 observers throughout all 16 Local Government Areas in Ekiti on 20 June, and 823 observers throughout all 30 LGAs in Osun on 15 August.
“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,” he stated.
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