THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s new chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan walked into his first major electoral test barely a week after being sworn in and immediately fired a shot across the bow: vote buying in the November 8 Anambra governorship election will not be tolerated.
Speaking at a security meeting on Tuesday, Amupitan warned that any attempt to induce voters must be resisted and curtailed. Strong words. But we’ve heard strong words before, haven’t we?
The question every Nigerian is asking: will this time be different?
Let me be clear – I want to believe Amupitan. The man is a Senior Advocate, a respected academic. He’s been chairman for barely two weeks and he’s already talking tough. That’s promising. But talk is cheap in Nigerian politics, and vote buying has become so normalised that mothers now send their children to collect N5,000 per vote like it’s an errand to buy bread.
Amupitan says security agents cannot afford to create an environment where vote buyers operate freely. He’s calling on law enforcement and anti-graft agencies to step up. Good. But here’s the brutal reality – in past elections, some of these same security agents have been complicit. They’ve looked the other way while politicians handed out cash like wedding souvenirs. Some have even provided security cover for vote buyers.
So when the NSA’s office, through Hassan Yahaya Abdullahi, promises “robust security measures” and warns that violence will be met with “strong, uncompromising response,” forgive me if I don’t start dancing yet. We need to see it, not just hear it.
The mock accreditation exercise INEC conducted in 12 polling units across 6 LGAs revealed network challenges with the BVAS. At least they’re being honest about it. They say efforts are being made to fix it before November 8. Let’s hope “efforts are being made” doesn’t translate to “we’re still struggling” on election day. Because if BVAS fails and we revert to manual processes, vote buying becomes easier. Period.
INEC plans to deploy 24,000 personnel across 5,718 polling units. That’s roughly 4 personnel per polling unit. Will that be enough to monitor, accredit, count votes AND fight off vote buyers with bags of cash? I’m skeptical.
But here’s what caught my attention – Amupitan’s comments at the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers conference. The man wants to end what he calls “courtroom warfare.” Over 1,000 pre-election cases before the 2023 elections. His words: “That is not democracy. That is litigation by other means.”He’s right.
Our political class has weaponised the courts. They spend more time in litigation than they do connecting with voters. And when they lose in court, they claim persecution. When they win, suddenly the judiciary is performing well.
Amupitan says if political parties obey their constitutions, respect the Electoral Act and align with the Nigerian constitution, the avalanche of pre-election cases will collapse.
Beautiful theory. But Nigerian politicians and obedience to rules?
That’s like asking Boko Haram to attend peace talks. It’s not in their DNA.
He wants elections won at polling units, not courtrooms. I agree completely. But that only happens when the process is credible from start to finish. And credibility starts with stopping vote buying.
National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu’s office said President Tinubu has directed strategic mobilisation of security forces.
Enhanced surveillance. Sufficient security personnel. Improved intelligence gathering. All aimed at preventing desperate politicians from disrupting the process.
Again, music to my ears. But we’ve danced to this song before and ended up disappointed.
Ribadu’s office said they’re engaging political party leaders to send a clear message that violence will not be tolerated. That’s good. But vote buying isn’t always violent. Sometimes it’s smooth, organised, and happens with a smile. Old women collecting N3,000. Young men getting N7,000. Party agents coordinating the whole operation like they’re running a logistics company.
How do you stop that?
You stop it by making examples. Arrest vote buyers publicly. Prosecute them quickly. Make it clear that there are consequences. Not after the election when nobody cares anymore. During the election. In real time.
The police, as lead agency for election security, must be willing to arrest their own colleagues if they’re caught enabling vote buying. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC )and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission(ICPC )must be on standby to trace suspicious cash movements in Anambra in the days leading to November 8. Banks must be mandated to flag unusual withdrawals.
But most importantly, voters need to develop a conscience.I know times are hard. N5,000 can buy one mudu of rice. N10,000 can pay your child’s school fees for a week. But when you collect that money, you’re not just selling your vote – you’re selling your children’s future. You’re telling politicians that your dignity can be bought for the price of a cup of rice.
Anambra people, you deserve better than this.
You deserve a governor who will fix your roads, not one who bought his way into office. You deserve leaders who are accountable to you, not to the godfathers who funded their vote-buying operation.
Amupitan said his goal is simple: make the law an instrument of change, not chaos. He wants losers to congratulate winners because they know the process was fair. Beautiful vision. But vision without execution is hallucination.
INEC must prove they’re serious about stopping vote buying in Anambra. Security agencies must show they’re not just window dressing. Political parties must realize the era of cash-and-carry elections should be over.
And voters? You hold the ultimate power. If you reject the money, the whole system collapses. If you collect the money but vote your conscience anyway, you’ve beaten them at their own game.
November 8 is coming fast. Will Anambra be different? Will we finally see an election where votes count more than naira notes?
I want to believe. But belief without evidence is just hope. And hope, as they say, is not a strategy.
- Nda-Isaiah is a political analyst based in Abuja and can be reached on jonesdryx@gmail.com. His syndicated column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Saturday.