The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said vote-buying increased by 5 percent in the 2023 general elections.
Released on July 11, the NBS report titled, “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends Third Survey on Corruption as Experienced by the Population,” said the elections recorded 22 percent of vote-buying, which is five percent higher than the 2019 general elections with 17 percent.
“Furthermore, in 2023, 10 percent 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 percent in 2019.”
The agency disclosed that 22 percent of Nigerian citizens reported that they were personally offered money in exchange for a vote before or during the 2023 general election, while nine percent were offered another favour.
It described vote-buying as an act of offering money, goods, or other favours in exchange for a voter’s vote 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 percent and personal offers of other favours were reported by four percent of citizens.”
However, NBS said its survey revealed that some electorates were not influenced by their voting decisions even after collecting money or favour.
“Just over half (55 percent) 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 percent 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.
In an analysis of the vote-buying by zones, NBS stated that there were minimal to no changes in the 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 percent in 2019 to 44 percent in 2023, adding that the North-West zone recorded “a relatively high share of 55 percent of citizens who were offered money or another favour in exchange for their vote.”
