We tracked over N2 billion expended on vote buying in Edo, Ondo governorship elections – Group

A civil society organisation, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), has said it tracked over N2 billion spent by political parties and their candidates during last year’s governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.

It also reported tracking N9.7 billion and N3.7 billion spent on election expenses in Edo and Ondo states, respectively.

The governorship elections took place on 21 September 2024 while it held on 16 November 2024 in Ondo State.

The Head of Research and Strategy, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), Oluwafemi Adebayo, disclosed this information on Tuesday during the public presentation of the Campaign Finance Tracking Report for the Edo and Ondo State 2024 Governorship Elections. Mr Adebayo said, “Vote buying was obvious and done with impunity.”

According to the breakdown provided by the report, the group tracked N699,505,363 allegedly spent on vote buying by the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Edo State, N402,997,980 spent for the same purpose by Nigeria’s leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In Ondo State, APC spent N790,956,100 and PDP spent N121,688,280 on vote buying, the report said.

The APC won and the PDP emerged the first runner-up in both elections held in Edo State on 21 September 2024 and in Ondo State on 21 November 2024.

The campaign finance tracking report is a project organised by KDI with the support of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

However, the report is likely to have severely understated the amount of money political actors expended during the elections, as KDI said it captured only what eyes could see.

According to KDI, an organisation focused on advancing good governance, democratic rights, public policy, and public engagement, the report provides an in-depth analysis of campaign expenditures by political parties and candidates and highlights key trends in political finance. The report also offers recommendations aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, and fairness in Nigeria’s electoral process.

Incidence of vote buying in Ondo and Edo States

PREMIUM TIMES reported vote buying during the Ondo State governorship election last year. Officers of the State Securities Services (SSS) apprehended a man with bags of money found in the booth of his car outside St Stephen’s Primary School in Akure, the state capital.

Another report by the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room also revealed how party agents openly exchanged votes for cash. The party agents were seen giving money to voters ranging from N10,000 to N20,000.

The police service commission also released a statement noting the occurrence of vote buying in the Ondo State election.

It persisted despite the deployment of officers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Edo State to prevent vote buying.

In Edo State, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) arrested eight persons for alleged vote buying. The police identified two of the arrested persons, Emotingham Godspower (25) and Farawei Isaac (27), as members of PDP both from Ufunama community, Ovia South West LGA. Meanwhile, the six others were arrested at Aibotse Secondary School near Meremu Hotel in Auchi.

Yiaga Africa also observed that agents of the APC and PDP were seen buying votes with N10,000, especially in Ikpoba/Okha, Igueben, Esan West, Akoko Edo, Owan West and Uhunmode LGAs.

Parties deny vote-buying

Despite these incidents, political parties and political figures have refuted claims of vote buying.

A member of APC and former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, denied APC’s involvement in vote buying at the 2024 governorship elections in Edo State.

Mr Oshiomhole dismissed the vote-buying allegations as laughable, attributing his party’s victory to voters’ desire for good governance.

Similarly, another member of APC and former member of the House of Representatives, Eziohuwa Agbonayinma, dismissed Yiaga’s allegations of vote buying and demanded proof.

The governorship candidate of the PDP in Edo State, Asue Ighodalo also denied buying votes instead he accused the APC of the offence.

Similarly, PDP’s governorship candidate in the 2024 Ondo State election claimed to have lost the election due to the APC’s alleged vote buying.

However, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, APC’s candidate and winner of the Ondo State governorship elections, said that he did not pay money for any votes, and was unaware of any party member engaged in vote buying on his behalf.

Known income generated by political parties in Ondo and Edo

According to the KDI, the APC received N200 million in donations and N600 million from the sale of forms in Edo State.

KDI said it could not track the donations received by the PDP, but noted that the party generated N650 million from the sale of forms.

The Labour Party (LP) received N750 million from the sale of forms and N250 million in donations, which were mostly in kind, the report said.

In Ondo State, KDI said it could not track any donations received by both the PDP and the APC.

But it said, while PDP generated N350 million from the sale of forms, APC raised N800 million from similar venture.

There were no figures available for LP.

They also noted the presence of third-party involvement in political finance is a breach of Section 221 of the Nigerian constitution.

The amount expended by candidates

According to KDI, Monday Okpeholo, the APC governorship candidate and winner of the election in Edo State, spent over N3.8 billion, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, N3.5 billion, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party, over N2.3 billion.

In Ondo State, Mr Aiyedatiwa of the APC and winner of the election, spent over N2.6 billion, Agboola Ajayi of the PDP, a former deputy governor of the state, spent over N1 billion and Olorunfemi Festus of LP spent over N7.6 million.

Mr Adebayo said it was glaring that higher spending correlates with electoral success. Those who spent more won the elections in both the Ondo and Edo States.

Breach of legal provisions

Section 121 of the Electoral Act, 2022 criminalises the offence of offering or receiving any item or cash to influence voting.

The provisions of Section 88 (3) of the same Act stipulate that a governorhsip candidate must not expend more than N1 billion naira in an election.

The findings by KDI reveal that most political parties breached the provisions of this law.

The chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, said during the presentation stated that there was a need for political financing to remain within the conduit of the law.

“I believe there is a compelling need to ensure that political financing remains within the legal limit and does not become a tool for unruly freedom, both by you or the subversion of democratic principles,” he said.

Challenges and recommendations by the KDI

Some of the limitations outlined by Mr Adebayo during the presentation include the reluctance of political candidates and media organisations to disclose financial aid they have received.

Also, political candidates operated independent campaign organisations outside their administrative structures which made it cumbersome for KDI to track the finances.

The KDI recommended strengthening financial disclosure mechanisms, regulating media spending transparency, and amending the Electoral Act.

The presentation culminated in the launch of PoliMoney, a site dedicated to

tracking political finance and campaign spending.

Methodology of findings

The findings of the report presented by the CSO were derived from the deployment of six media organisations and 39 community monitors in Edo State and seven media organisations and 36 community monitors in Ondo State.

The data were collected within the period of July and November 2024.

Mr Adebayo, however, stressed that the organisation “only tracked what eyes can see.”

While giving the welcome address at the presentation, on Tuesday, the Team Lead, KDI, Bukola Idowu, said, “We have observed a significant presence of dark money in Nigerian political campaigns with political parties operating under opaque structures.”

Mr Idowu hoped that the findings of the organisation would be valuable for shaping policy recommendations and advocacy and promoting accountability in campaign finance.

Acknowledging the core problem of democracy as lack of data, the Governance Adviser at FCDO, Mathew Ayibakuro, commended the KDI for their efforts in compiling the data.