The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has criticised the House of Representatives for failing to criminalise vote-buying during party primaries, describing the decision as a setback for Nigeria’s democracy.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, December 21, the former Anambra State governor said many Nigerians had hoped lawmakers would take a firm and decisive stand against vote-buying, which he described as a major threat to credible elections in the country.
“Just yesterday, Nigerians hoped that the House of Representatives would finally take a decisive stand against the cancer of vote-buying,” Obi said, reacting to the ongoing amendments to the Electoral Act 2022 currently being considered by the lower chamber.
Obi said that hope was dashed when the House declined to address inducement at the level of party primaries, noting that vote-buying often begins long before general elections.
According to him, the refusal to criminalise inducement during primaries shows an unwillingness by lawmakers to confront the root causes of electoral malpractice.
He argued that allowing vote-buying to persist within party processes undermines internal democracy and weakens the credibility of elections overall, adding that genuine electoral reform must tackle corruption at every stage of the electoral cycle, starting from party primaries.
The tweet reads in full:
