By Miracle Ogunde
The Independent National Electoral Commission, has emphasised the need to curb vote-buying and other electoral malpractices.
INEC, therefore, called on civil society organisations to extend their election monitoring efforts to political party primaries.
Its Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, made the call during the first quarterly consultative meeting with CSOs for 2025, held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
While acknowledging the crucial role CSOs have played in election observation and advocacy, Yakubu noted that their reports have helped in addressing electoral irregularities.
He encouraged them to focus on party primaries, where cases of delegate-buying have been widely reported.
According to him, some delegates have openly spoken about the financial inducements they received during the nomination process, an issue that requires greater scrutiny and action.
“I would like to urge civil society organisations to be as interested in party primaries as you are actively engaged in the monitoring of secondary elections conducted by INEC. After all, only the candidates nominated by the political parties are placed on the ballot paper for citizens to vote for on election day,” he stressed.
“From your monitoring reports as accredited election observers, you have consistently expressed concern over vote-buying at Polling Units during elections. Some of you have made actionable recommendations on how to curtail the menace which have been favourably considered by the Commission.
“It is time to cast your net wide by focusing on the incidence of delegate-buying by aspirants during primaries. Some delegates openly boasted of how much money they made from aspirants during party primaries. You should intensify your advocacy in support of the practical steps taken by the relevant security and law enforcement agencies to tackle this diabolical practice.”
The meeting comes as INEC prepares for several key elections.
The Anambra State Governorship election is scheduled for November 8, 2025, with political parties expected to conduct their primaries between March 20 and April 10, 2025.
Yakubu reminded stakeholders that the timetable and schedule of activities for the election were released in October last year, while the official Notice of Election was published on November 13, 2024, in line with legal requirements.
In addition to the Anambra election, INEC is also preparing for the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, set to take place on February 21, 2026.
The tenure of the six Chairmen and 62 Councillors will end next year, and preparations for the elections are already underway.
Yakubu confirmed that the election timetable has been published on INEC’s website, and further details will be discussed in subsequent engagements.
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