Vote trading during Nigeria’s general elections

 

The twin evils that research has shown as malignant tumours that affect credibility of Nigeria’s elections are violence and vote buying which I choose to call vote trading as it involves both buyers and sellers.  It is important to note that not a few people suspected that the redesigning of N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes by the outgoing administration through the Central Bank of Nigeria was aimed at preventing vote trading during the 2023 polls. In his nationwide broadcast on February 16, 2023, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) admitted that much when he said inter alia in paragraphs 21 and 22 that “I am aware that this new monetary policy has also contributed immensely to the minimisation of the influence of money in politics. This is a positive departure from the past and represents a bold legacy step by this administration, towards laying a strong foundation for free and fair elections.”  Did the policy really stem vote trading?

Notably among the laws against vote buying in Nigeria are sections 121 and 127 of the Electoral Act 2022. Section 121 calls it bribery and conspiracy and it stated among other things as follows: 121.—(1)  Any person who does any of the following — (a) directly or indirectly, by his or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf, corruptly makes any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement to or for any person, in order to induce such person to procure or to endeavour to procure the return of any person as a member of a legislative house or to an elective office or the vote of any voter at any election; Subsection (4) says  “Any person who commits the offence of bribery is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of  N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.”

Section 127 says, “A person who — (a)  corruptly by his or herself or by any other person at any time after the date of an election has been announced, directly or indirectly gives or provides or pays money to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to vote or refrain from voting at such election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting at such election ; or (b) being a voter, corruptly accepts or takes money or any other inducement during any of the period stated in paragraph (a), commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of  N100,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.” It is noteworthy that both the giver and the receiver are both criminally liable.

In the lead up to and during the February 25 and March 18 general elections several means were devised to induce voters by desperate politicians. Apart from monetary or cash gifts, many were influenced by gifts such as food items, clothing materials, and sudden act of charity by the political class. The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the March 18 governorship election in Enugu State and ex-Minister of Information and Culture, Chief Frank Nweke Jr. alleged on Friday, March 24, at a press conference that “The most vulnerable and impoverished became prey to vote buying by some political parties with as little as N500 or packets of noodles in some places. At Udenu, parties competed for the votes of our people with N2,000, a plate of jollof rice, Okpa, and a bottle of soda.”

Executive Director of Centre for Democracy and Development, Idayat Hassan, while reading the preliminary report of the Centre on the 2023 general elections on March 18 said data from its 1,500 observers deployed across the country showed there were more cases of vote-buying during the governorship election compared to the presidential poll of February 25.

According to her, this reality reflected across all six geopolitical zones. “In the North-West, observers in all seven states reported increased reports of vote trading, primarily by political party agents. Money was used alongside other materials such as food items, wrappers and ‘credit voucher,’ and those items would be redeemed after the results. Similarly, in the North-East, political party agents in Taraba infiltrated queues, pretended to be voters and used the chance to offer cash for votes. In the South-East, there were reports of APGA and LP party agents using materials, phones and other souvenirs to entice voters in Anambra State. In the South-South, multiple states reported a desire for voters to show proof of their vote before being paid, with party agents reportedly compiling a list of their voters in Esan Central LGA, Edo State.”

Yiaga Africa, another civil society organisation, said it recorded and confirmed 15 cases of vote buying and bribery across eight states during the governorship elections. Chief Ezenwa Nwagu, member of the board of the organisation while addressing the press on the preliminary finding of the group said voters were wooed and ridiculously patronised to sell their votes by politicians and party agents. In Sarkin Mudu Polling Unit (016), Giade Local Government Area of Bauchi State, the Peoples Democratic Party agents were sighted by Yiaga observers bribing accredited voters “with a thousand naira, a wrapper and a pack of spaghetti each,” he said. “The voters hand over their ballot papers to party agents in exchange for the bribe. A similar report was received from PU 006 Rangan Ward, Warji LGA of Bauchi on the distribution of wrappers, two thousand naira and a pack of spaghetti to voters.”

On March 20, 2023, the European Union Election Observation Mission issued its preliminary report on the election and noted that, “In governorship races, high expenditure on publicity and use of state resources was evident, but in SHoA campaigns, spending was less obvious due mainly to the low key and less visible nature of campaigns. The ongoing shortage of cash was generally perceived as reducing the scope for vote buying, but other inducements to voters were observed. The Supreme Court on 3 March ruled that the old naira remain in circulation for the remainder of 2023, however by 15 March, EU EOM observers noted little direct impact and that overall hard currency remained in short supply. However, EU EOM observers noted the distribution of food and other goods and incentives in several states around the country including Kaduna, Katsina, Benue, Adawama and Akwa Ibom.”

It is not just giving of cash that is tantamount to vote buying, sudden act of charity on the eve of an election also signpost voter inducement. For instance, the Lagos State Government decision to release impounded vehicles to their owners free of charge without payment of fines barely two weeks to the governorship poll and the relaxation of arrest of traffic offenders are some of the ways.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it arrested no fewer than 65 persons over alleged vote-buying, across the 28 states where governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections were conducted. The Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed this in a statement on March 18. According to the agency, 20 of the suspects are arrested by operatives from the Ilorin Zonal Command and 13 suspects nabbed by operatives on election monitoring duty at the Kaduna Zonal Command.

 The teams monitoring the polls in the Port Harcourt Zone arrested a total of 12 people for various offences bordering on inducing voters with money to vote for their preferred candidates, while the Uyo Zonal Command made four arrests in Calabar, adding that the remaining suspects were arrested in Gombe, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger states. The spokesperson for the anti-graft agency noted that the investigation so far revealed that the major modus operandi of the suspects is to give cash, transfer money, coupons, and send recharge cards to eligible voters to induce them to vote for their candidates.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission said it arrested four vote buyers in Sokoto and Katsina states during the governorship and houses of assembly elections on Saturday, March 18, 2023. The commission in a tweet on February 25 said it arrested nine persons for vote buying in Osun, Ondo, Borno, Akwa Ibom and Sokoto states during the presidential and National Assembly Elections.

While cash crunch arising from the redesigned naira notes may have reduced the use of cash by desperate politicians and their agents to buy votes, it can be seen from the aforementioned that other ingenious means of vote buying had been devised to induce voters. It is hoped that those arrested by the anti-corruption agencies will be duly prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to potential vote buyers in the future.