Key Points

• Peter Obi criticises the House of Representatives for refusing to criminalise vote buying at party primaries.

• He argues that elections built on inducement and bribery cannot produce credible leadership.

• Obi warns that vote buying is spreading into community and student elections across Nigeria.

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has criticised the House of Representatives for refusing to criminalise vote buying during party primaries, describing the decision as a blow to Nigeria’s democratic growth.

Obi argued that vote buying has for years weakened the country’s electoral system and damaged its public standing. He added that ignoring the practice at its earliest stage only deepens the crisis.

Obi Faults House Decision on Primaries

The former Anambra State governor shared his position in a post titled “Vote Buying Must Be Stopped at the Roots” on his verified X account, @PeterObi, on Sunday.

According to him, many Nigerians expected lawmakers to take a firm position against vote buying.

Instead, he noted, the House chose not to criminalise the practice during party primaries, a move he described as protecting a flawed system rather than defending Nigeria’s democratic future.

He maintained that elections built on inducement and bribery cannot produce genuine leaders or meaningful national progress.

‘Credible Elections Need Clean Foundations’

Obi stressed that any serious effort to end vote buying must start with party primaries, where candidates first emerge.

He explained that measures introduced later in the electoral process remain weak if the root problem remains untouched.

In his view, democracy loses its meaning when votes become commodities exchanged for cash or favours.

He warned that allowing such practices to persist turns elections into what he described as a criminal marketplace.

Vote Buying Spreading Beyond Politics

Obi also raised concerns about the spread of vote buying beyond formal politics.

He observed that the practice has filtered into town unions, village associations, social clubs and even student elections, where young people now imitate what they see from political leaders.

This trend, he argued, threatens the moral fabric of society and normalises corruption at every level of civic life.

Call for Electoral Reform

Obi called for bold reforms and insisted that integrity must define Nigeria’s electoral process from the very beginning.

He urged leaders and citizens alike to confront vote buying directly, noting that national renewal depends on restoring trust in elections.

According to him, Nigeria can achieve a better democratic future, but only if votes are no longer treated as items for sale.