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PRESS STATEMENT

For Immediate Release

Vote Buying and Electoral Failures Threaten 2027 Elections, MOTiON Warns

Abuja, Nigeria - 18 August 2025 - The Movement for Transformation of Nigeria (MOTiON) is deeply alarmed by the conduct of the by-elections held on Saturday, 16 August 2025 across 12 states and 16 constituencies. While we acknowledge the punctual commencement of voting in some areas, the strong security presence, and the relatively peaceful atmosphere in certain constituencies, these positives were overshadowed by grave systemic failures that raise urgent concerns about Nigeria’s readiness for the 2027 general elections.

Beyond the disturbing reports of voter apathy in states such as Edo and Oyo, which reflect citizens’ deepening distrust in the electoral process, credible evidence of vote buying was reported across several constituencies, including arrests in Ogun State involving alleged party officials and electoral staff found with large sums of cash suspected for voter inducement.

Equally troubling were failures linked to technology, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IREV). In several areas, these tools malfunctioned or were poorly managed, exposing INEC’s inability to handle its own innovations. The repeated failure of INEC to conduct the Enugu South re-run election for the third time also left thousands disenfranchised. This is an unacceptable denial of citizens’ democratic rights.

“These challenges are not isolated incidents,” said Hauwa Mustapha, Convener of MOTiON. “They are symptomatic of systemic inefficiency within INEC. If, in relatively small-scale by-elections, Nigerians still experience rampant vote buying, BVAS and IREV breakdowns, and administrative lapses, then what should we expect in the far more complex 2027 general elections? INEC must confront these failures now or risk pushing Nigeria into a full-blown electoral crisis.”

MOTiON stresses that with less than two years to the 2027 general elections, it is appalling and dangerous that Nigeria is still grappling with such fundamental problems. Unless urgent reforms are implemented, the credibility of the 2027 polls will be fatally undermined, further eroding citizens’ trust in democracy.

Accordingly, MOTiON demands the following concrete actions:

  1. INEC must address systemic inefficiencies with a public, time-bound plan. This should include independent audits of BVAS and IREV; nationwide pre-election stress testing and mock accreditation; clear uptime and incident-reporting dashboards for IREV; standard operating procedures for rapid on-site troubleshooting and device replacement; improved logistics for timely deployment of materials and personnel; and compulsory training, certification, and recertification of all ad hoc and permanent staff. INEC must also publish post-election incident reports within 14 days and institute swift, transparent disciplinary measures against officials found negligent or complicit in malpractice.
  2. INEC should adopt open, verifiable processes for results handling, including end-to-end encryption, tamper-evident logs, and public APIs that allow civil society and parties to independently verify polling-unit level results. An external technical advisory panel drawn from Nigerian universities, professional bodies, and civil society should oversee audits and make recommendations ahead of 2027.
  3. Security agencies must investigate and prosecute electoral corruption comprehensively. This must extend beyond foot soldiers to include politicians, party officials, and any INEC staff implicated in inducement, intimidation, or sabotage. Case updates should be published regularly so the public can track progress from arrest to conviction.
  4. Political Parties must end the entrenched culture of vote buying. They should commit to issue-based campaigns, transparent campaign finance reporting, and internal democracy. Regulatory bodies must enforce stricter penalties, including disqualification where appropriate, for parties and candidates found to subvert the process.
  5. Citizens and civil society should scale up monitoring before, during, and after elections through community observer networks and citizen-reporting tools. Voters must resist inducements and report malpractice. Civil society groups should provide legal support hotlines, pursue strategic litigation against offenders, and sustain advocacy for electoral reforms at federal and state levels.

The 16 August by-elections showed that credible elections are possible only when institutions act with integrity, technology is competently managed, and political actors respect the rules of democracy. Anything less is unacceptable. MOTiON will continue to stand with Nigerians to expose inefficiency, demand accountability, and safeguard the future of our democracy.

#ENDS

Signed: Hauwa Mustapha, Convener, MOTiON

Comrade Chris Isiguzo, Co-Convener