• ’Soludo won’t have won, but for massive vote-buying’ 

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, yesterday, called for strict enforcement of laws to check what it described as the ugly phenomenon of vote buying and vote selling.
 
The Situation Room, which is a coalition of over 70 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), working in support of credible elections and governance in the country, said it was concerned about the recurring cases of widespread vote buying during elections.
 
Consequently, the group, which issued its final statement on the just concluded governorship election in Anambra State, urged the National Assembly “to accelerate pending legislative actions for electoral reforms designed to enhance political participation, improve election management, and effectively address the prosecution of electoral offences.”
 
Stressing that credible elections remained central to democratic governance and public accountability, the CSOs maintained that lessons from the Anambra governorship election must inform deeper reforms and stronger collaboration among INEC, security agencies, political actors, and civil society to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy.
 
“These lessons must be applied to the upcoming Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as the Ekiti and Osun states governorship elections – all to be conducted in 2026.
 
“There is also a need to take forward conversations on the credibility of the voter’s register, welfare of security agencies and voter apathy in Nigeria’s elections as we head towards the 2027 general elections,” it added.
 
In the statement that was jointly signed by its convener, Yunusa Z. Ya’u, and two co-conveners, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju, they noted that though the Anambra gubernatorial poll was largely peaceful, it was, however, “marred by what may be attributed to lingering public distrust in public institutions and governance.”

MEANWHILE, Pan African Women Projects, a South African-based international observer group, which was in Anambra State during the just concluded governorship election, has berated the process.
 
At a press briefing held yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, the group described what they witnessed on November 8, 2025, as akin to “open buying and selling activities they had earlier experienced at Nkwo-Nnewi Market on October 24, 2025, when they went for sensitisation of market women ahead of the election day.”
 
Addressing journalists on their findings during the poll in the 21 councils of the state, the Head of the Foreign Observer Group, Bontle Matjila, noted that Prof. Charles Soludo wouldn’t have won but for massive vote buying that characterised the entire process.
 
She noted that the sleaze was not hidden, for inexplicable reasons, the law enforcement agents, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other available duty bearers failed to act. She added that these officials appallingly publicly chose to look away.