Vote-buying increased by 5% in 2023 election, says NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics has affirmed that there was a prevalence of vote-buying and selling during the 2023 general elections.

According to the NBS in its report titled, ’Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and trends third survey on corruption as experienced by the population’, the elections recorded 22% of vote buying, which is five per cent higher than the 2019 general elections with 17%.

The agency disclosed in the report released on July 11 and obtained by Punch that 22 per cent of Nigerian citizens reported that they were personally offered money in exchange of a vote before or during the 2023 general election, while nine per cent were offered another favour.

Describing it as another form of corruption, NBS said vote-buying, which is the act of offering money, goods or other favours in exchange for the vote of a voter in an election, NBS said, “This represents an increase in both types of vote buying compared with 2019 when personal offers of money were reported by 17 per cent and personal offers of other favours were reported by four per cent of citizens.

“Furthermore, in 2023, 10 per cent reported that they were not personally offered money or another favour in exchange for their vote, but that instead another member of their household was approached, compared to 5 per cent in 2019.”

However, NBS said its survey revealed that some of the electorates were not influenced by their voting decisions even after collecting money or favour.

“Just over half (55 per cent) of the citizens who were personally offered money or another favour in exchange for their vote in the 2023 general election reported that the offer did not influence their vote choice, while 40 per cent of those citizens said they voted for the person or political party which offered them money or a favour precisely because of the offer.

“Between 2019 and 2023, the proportion of Nigerians who were personally offered bribes in exchange for votes increased similarly across sexes, urban and rural areas, and age groups”, the agency said.

Breaking down the prevalence of the vote buying zones, NBS stated that there were minimal to no changes in South-West, South-South and North-Central parts of the country between 2019 and 2023.

The North-West, according to the NBS, increased from 23% in 2019 to 44% in 2023, adding that the North-West zone recorded “a relatively high share of 55% of citizens who were offered money or another favour in exchange for their vote.”

Commenting on the NBS report, a pro-democracy and civic engagement organisation, Yiaga Africa, said vote-buying remained a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.