By David Lawani, Abuja
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has warned that alleged vote buying during the August 15 Osun State governorship election could pose a serious threat to the credibility of future elections, after its observers reported that voters were offered as much as N50,000 for their votes.
The coalition said the reported incidents exposed weaknesses in Nigeria’s electoral system that could be exploited ahead of the 2027 general elections unless urgent measures are taken to prevent voter inducement and other forms of electoral manipulation.
The Co-Convener of the Situation Room, Mma Odi, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while presenting the coalition’s final assessment of the Osun governorship election.
The Situation Room said it deployed observers to all 30 local government areas of the state, while partner organisations, including the CLEEN Foundation, the Centre for Democracy and Development, and the Kimpact Development Initiative, deployed more than 300 accredited observers.
According to the coalition, its field teams recorded several forms of alleged voter inducement, including cash payments, distribution of food and drinks and the collection of voters’ personal details by party agents after ballots had been cast.
One of the incidents occurred at Polling Unit 008, Ward 6, Isokan Local Government Area, where observers reported that jollof rice and drinks were distributed to voters. The coalition said the development triggered disorder at the polling unit.
Odi said the scale of alleged vote trading recorded during the election was particularly disturbing.
“They took vote trading to another level. N50,000 per vote,” she said.
The Situation Room warned that the reported development should be treated as a serious warning ahead of 2027, saying electoral manipulators could analyse the weaknesses exposed during the Osun election and devise more effective methods of influencing voters.
“People who want to rig will go back to the drawing board to see how they can manipulate the process ahead of the 2027 election,” Odi said.
The coalition said other alleged cases of vote buying were documented at polling locations in Isekan, Irepodun and Ife East local government areas.
At Alapomu 1, Odo-Osun Health Office, Polling Unit 006, Isekan LGA, observers reportedly saw party agents separating voters from the main crowd after they had voted and recording their names on a list.
The Situation Room said a similar pattern was observed at Ward 2, Polling Unit 7, Irepodun LGA, where voters were allegedly asked to write down their names in connection with certain party agents after voting.
At Modakeke 1, Ward 08, Ife East LGA, the coalition reported another alleged vote-trading arrangement. It said some voters indicated their preferred parties after voting, following which party agents allegedly collected their names and telephone numbers and issued them tags.
The civil society coalition described vote buying as a serious threat to electoral integrity, arguing that financial inducements compromise voters’ ability to exercise their franchise freely.
Despite the allegations, Odi commended voters across Osun for turning out and monitoring the process from polling units through the various collation stages.
“The citizens tried. They voted, watched their votes, and followed the results to the ward, LG, and state collation centres. The citizens made a difference in Osun State,” she said.
The Situation Room assessed the election as generally peaceful, noting that voters were largely able to cast their ballots without widespread violence or disruption. It also praised security agencies for maintaining order despite the tense political environment leading up to the election.
The coalition, however, identified shortcomings in the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, particularly difficulties experienced by elderly voters whose identities could not be verified through facial authentication.
Odi said the Independent National Electoral Commission needed to resolve the technical problem before the 2027 elections.
“This lack of facial authentication of elderly people, I think they need to address this because they will keep having this issue,” she said.
The group also reported delays at some polling units where large numbers of registered voters were reportedly required to share a single BVAS machine, resulting in long queues and congestion.
According to the Situation Room, some delays in the commencement of voting were also connected to the late inclusion of the Social Democratic Party candidate on the ballot following a Federal High Court judgment delivered on July 22.
The coalition said INEC was subsequently required to reproduce ballot papers and result sheets, and that the late production and distribution of sensitive materials affected the timely commencement of voting in some locations.
On electronic transmission of results, the Situation Room said the uploading of polling-unit results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal improved substantially after voting began.
It said the first upload was recorded at approximately 3:49 p.m. on August 15, while 98.43 per cent of results had been uploaded by August 16.
The coalition also expressed reservations about the prospect of the National Assembly establishing an Electoral Offences Commission.
Odi questioned lawmakers’ willingness to pass the proposed legislation, saying stronger institutional mechanisms were needed to deter electoral offences.
“I don’t think they will pass this Electoral Offences Commission,” she said.
The Situation Room called on security agencies to strengthen the detection, investigation, and prosecution of electoral offences, with particular emphasis on vote-buying, intimidation, and violence.
It specifically urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to deepen collaboration with other security agencies to tackle financial inducement of voters.
The coalition also called on INEC to conduct a comprehensive post-election audit of the Osun governorship election and other recent off-cycle polls, saying lessons from the exercises should be applied to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general elections.
