Vote buying: Nigerians risk electing questionable leaders in 2023, experts caution

Election experts have warned of emergence of low-quality and questionable leaders if vote trading is left unaddressed before the 2023 general elections.

They also called on the National Assembly to hasten action on the proposed Electoral Offences Commission bill to make the entire process transparent.

The experts gave the advice at a policy dialogue organised by the Electoral Forum, with the theme, “Addressing Vote Trading in Nigeria: Lessons from Global Comparative Experiences.”

In a communiqué signed by chairman of the forum, Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi, yesterday, in Abuja, the stakeholders lamented that Nigeria has become a huge vote market, where ‘wholesale’, ‘middlemen’ and ‘retail’ vote buying and selling are a common feature.