Allegations of vote buying have overshadowed Saturday’s Anambra South senatorial bye-election, where the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is currently leading.
Reports from polling units across Nnewi South, Nnewi North, Ihiala, and Ekwusigo LGAs suggest that both APGA and the All Progressives Congress (APC) distributed between ₦10,000 and ₦25,000 per voter.
At Osumenyi, hometown of APC candidate Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, and Ukpor, hometown of APGA’s Dr. Emma Nwachukwu, similar cases were reported.
A voter, Madam Comfort Okoye, confirmed that money was openly shared. “Some of us rejected their offers, but others collected. This is not democracy, it is desperation,” she said.
Despite the inducements, voting was largely peaceful with decent turnout, replicating scenes from the Onitsha House of Assembly bye-election.
Concerned citizens, however, have urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the “travesty,” stressing that electoral credibility is at stake.
Observers fear the rising trend of monetised voting could erode trust in Nigeria’s democratic process.
