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Poverty major reason for vote-buying, says INEC
The fight against vote buying and selling in Nigeria is seriously being frustrated by weak punitive sanctions against the perpetrators and increasing poverty in the country, key stakeholders in electoral process have said.
They raised the concern during a policy dialogue with the theme, ‘Addressing vote-trading in Nigeria from global comparative experiences’, organised by the Electoral Forum in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa and MacArthur Foundation.
The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, represented by his Chief of Staff, Otive Igbuzor, said that vote-trading had become an unusual democratic experience, which served as a clog in the wheel of free choice and democracy in Nigeria.
According to him, the menace had become a common phenomenon in Nigeria’s political system, which, he said, had brought negative consequences to the country’s electoral system.
While observing that vote-trading only guaranteed limited, elections-bound benefits for a few, but jeopardising the long-term fortunes of the majority, Omo-Agege called for stronger punitive sanctions against perpetrators and sustained information campaigns, community action and locally enforceable public commitments to collectively fight the menace.
He said, “To stem the ugly behaviour, everyone should be involved, both voters and contestants. It needs sustained information campaigns, community action and locally enforceable public commitments to collectively shun vote-buying.
“Punitive sanctions strategies are more likely to be successful than moralistic pleas. Political actors who buy votes should face stringent consequences. Political financing reform, and ensuring election security and ballot secrecy, are equally vital in addressing vote-selling. Most of this was taken care of in the new Electoral Act 2022 passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the president.”
The chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, represented by a National Commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, said the speedy passage of the National Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal Bill by the National Assembly would checkmate vote-buying.
The INEC boss admitted that poverty was largely responsible for the menace. He, however, expressed confidence that the tide would change soon as Nigerians were beginning to have faith in the electoral process.
Yakubu said, “We are going to intensify voter education and sensitise the people more with regards to vote-buying. People have also talked about poverty. Yes, we all know it’s poverty. But I think also that as soon as people begin to have faith in the electoral process, they will begin to see the power that they have over the people who are running for offices. And I believe that very soon, the story will change and the power will return to the people.”
The chairman of Electoral Forum Chairman, Prof. Bayo Olukoshi, said there had been a global consensus that seeking to eliminate the use of money in politics was almost impossible and waste of time because politicians would find ways to bring the use of money into the political equation.
According to him, democracies around the world had moved away from elimination to regulation of the use of money in politics, in a way to ensuring that the use of money did not corrupt integrity of the electoral process.
Olukoshi said, “So, money in politics is a global challenge, especially criminal money which are unaccounted and very difficult to trace. However, in our context, the debate around the issue of money in politics is again not an entirely new debate for those who are old enough to know the politics of the Second Republic where we saw increasingly the significant role of money as opposed to issues and ideas entering the Nigerian political space.
“But what happened in the Second Republic will seem to have been a child’s play compared to what we are dealing with today, in which it is absolutely clear that if you do not have a well-oiled godfather sponsoring you, or you do not have the resources of your own to oil your political machinery, you are not likely regardless of how beautiful your ideologies may be or your record of personal integrity and achievement may be, you are not likely to be able to make a dent on our political system.
“Much more than that is the fact that the use of money has gone beyond simply capturing political parties and structures to infiltrate the wider electorate.”
Speaking on the ‘Socio-political paradox of vote-trading in Nigeria: Focus on the political party primaries and the recent Ekiti and Osun governorship elections’, the immediate past Resident Electoral Commission, Rivers State, Obo Effanga, said the malaise of vote-trading required the involvement of a multiplicity of stakeholders, agencies, and groups to address it.
He traced the root of the menace to the economic imbalance and inequality in Nigeria, which if fixed, according to him, would to a large extent reduce the “number of poor people whose vulnerability currently is such that they can easily be dangled pittance in exchange for their vote.”
Effanga lamented that vote-trading is also aided and abetted by security officials at the polling unit, adding that this could happen either by failure to ensure adequate arrangement to guarantee secrecy of the vote or failure to take steps to prevent those who try to breach the rules.
“The law enforcement agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission must ensure appropriate steps to stem or react to incidents of vote-trading, before, during, and after each election. I am not sure we yet have records of anybody picked or investigated for vote-trading during all the political party primaries this year.
“However, it is also a paradox that those saddled with the responsibility to fix the economy are also the primary beneficiaries of the vote-trade – politicians. Therefore, it would appear that it serves their purpose to keep the economy in shambles in order to sustain the vote-trading market dynamics,” he stated.
On his part, chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, Bolaji Owasanoye, represented by provost of the Anti-corruption Academy, Prof. Olatunde Babawale, warned that vote-buying has a tendency of frustrating and undermining the war against corruption in Nigeria.
He said the ICPC was working with INEC to tackle the menace.
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Sanwo-Olu, Lai Mohammed, Gbenga Daniel to discuss 2027 elections, insecurity at 7th Freedom Online lecture
Challenges facing the economy and insecurity, especially associated with elections in a developing economy like Nigeria, will be the focus of discussion at the seventh yearly lecture of Freedom Online (www.freedomonline.com.ng) on September 3 in Lagos.
Freedom Online, according to a statement by its Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Gabriel Akinadewo, is focusing on how to tackle insecurity during the lecture “because it has become a monster, threatening to consume the nation-state called Nigeria.
“What does the future hold for Nigeria after the 2027 general elections? How will the election be conducted in a way that will be acceptable to all? Will the outcome lay a solid foundation for the future of the country?
“We believe that actions of politicians, security agents and INEC officials, before, during and after the election will, one way or the other, decide the fate of the more than 200 million Nigerians in this geographical space. Obviously, insecurity, part of which is thuggery during elections, leads to poverty, underdevelopment and other social vices. Nigeria’s political, economic and social fabric is disintegrating because of this time bomb and the outcome of the election will go a long way to decide Nigeria’s future in global affairs”.
Akinadewo said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State is the Special Guest Speaker while former Information & Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and former Ogun State Governor, Senator Gbenga Daniel, are the Chairman and Special Guest of Honour respectively.
The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Editor of Vanguard, Eze Anaba, is the Chief Host.
…Property Enumeration App to drive new land revenue regime
The Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS) has announced a drastic reduction in land use charges payable by property owners across the state as part of measures to encourage tax compliance and broaden the state’s revenue base.
The Chairman of ESIRS, Mr Emmanuel Ekene Nnamani, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the activities and achievements of the agency in its three years under his leadership.
Under the revised arrangement, property owners in Independence Layout now pay N70,000 annually, while those in Abakpa pay N20,000. Owners of village houses, according to Nnamani, will pay N10,000 annually as land use charge.
Nnamani also announced plans to commence the implementation of a Property Enumeration App, which will facilitate the identification and enumeration of properties across the state and provide a database for the assessment and collection of land use charges.
He said students would be engaged to participate in the enumeration exercise, with each student expected to receive payment on a weekly basis, based on the number of houses enumerated.
According to him, the initiative would help ESIRS establish an accurate property register while creating opportunities for students to earn income through the exercise.
Nnamani explained that the Property Enumeration App would assign identification to properties and their owners, making it easier for the government to determine taxable properties and improve compliance.
He said the exercise was part of ESIRS’ broader strategy to expand the tax net and bring previously untapped sources of revenue into the formal revenue system.
The ESIRS chairman said the agency was also expanding its revenue collection activities to o other areas including haulage fees, land use charges, capital gains tax, stamp duties and withholding tax.
He disclosed that withholding tax would soon become operational in the state, urging individuals and organisations required to deduct the tax to ensure that the deductions were properly remitted to the government.
Giving an insight into the performance of ESIRS under his leadership, Nnamani said the agency had recorded a significant increase in internally generated revenue since 2023.
He said the state generated N37 billion in 2023, rising to N108.5 billion in 2024, while revenue increased substantially to N406.7 billion in 2025, representing tax and non-tax revenues.
Nnamani attributed the growth to the reforms introduced under Governor Peter Mbah’s administration, particularly the autonomy granted ESIRS and the deployment of technology for revenue collection.
He said the agency inherited a system characterised by poorly motivated personnel and fragmented revenue collection, but the autonomy granted by the state government enabled ESIRS to embark on fundamental reforms.
“Our Governor came with disruptive innovation and now it is time to give account,” Nnamani said.
He explained that the autonomy granted to ESIRS was backed by legislation, transforming the agency into a one-stop shop for revenue collection in the state.
According to him, ESIRS moved away from a mono-payment gateway operated through Interswitch and expanded the system to seven payment gateways, including UPS and Flutterwave.
He said taxpayers could now make payments through banks, transfers and more than 300 Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals, including from the comfort of their homes and even during weekends.
The development, he said, had significantly improved convenience and reduced opportunities for revenue leakages.
Nnamani said the agency also embarked on extensive training of its personnel and declared an emergency in which every staff member was required to have access to a laptop or tablet.
He added that ESIRS invested in reliable internet connectivity and solar energy to ensure that its operations were not disrupted by power challenges.
The ESIRS chairman said the agency had also banned cash payments as part of measures to strengthen transparency and accountability in revenue collection.
He said several revenue agencies that previously operated independently had been unbundled and brought under a centralised system, while ESIRS collaborated with relevant unions and revenue agencies to improve its operations.
According to him, the reforms were particularly significant in the informal sector, where revenues were previously paid to non-state actors before the new system was introduced.
Nnamani urged residents and businesses to familiarise themselves with the state’s tax laws, stressing that the agency was not interested in imposing arbitrary taxes but in ensuring compliance with existing legislation.
He said the law provides for certain exemptions, but taxpayers seeking exemption must undertake the required tax filing.
He noted that ESIRS was currently not implementing some provisions of the tax law to their full extent, citing the provision requiring the payment of one per cent of turnover in certain circumstances.
“We are only collecting N36,000 and people are complaining. I’m a tax collector and you have to convince me why you should not pay,” he said.
He urged taxpayers to study the tax laws and understand their obligations rather than evade payment.
The ESIRS boss further disclosed that the state was collecting Development Levy from new construction projects, noting that between 20 and 25 new buildings were being commenced daily across the state.
He said the levy was N150,000 in Enugu North Local Government Area, N100,000 each in Enugu South and Enugu East, N80,000 in Nsukka, while the rate for other local government areas stood at N50,000,”and you must pay to be permitted to commence development of the property”.
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He said ESIRS was also strengthening the collection of capital gains tax, particularly from property transactions, as well as stamp duty.
Nnamani maintained that the objective of the reforms was to create a sustainable and transparent revenue system capable of funding government programmes without placing undue pressure on taxpayers.
The chairman also dismissed concerns that the ongoing tax reforms were designed to frustrate businesses, particularly Igbo traders.
He said the forthcoming implementation of enhanced tax-compliance measures at both the federal and state levels should not be misconstrued as an attempt to shut down businesses.
According to him, the reforms are aimed at ensuring that individuals and businesses fulfil their statutory tax obligations.
“It is not aimed at shutting down Igbo business. People should pay their taxes and not evade it,” he said.
Nnamani said ESIRS would continue to expand the tax net while deploying technology to make payment easier, improve transparency and ensure that revenue due to the state was properly collected.
He said the agency’s ultimate objective was to build a modern revenue administration system in which taxpayers could meet their obligations conveniently while the state would accurately account for every naira collected.
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