Red lines in the corruption of Nigeria’s political and electoral system, By Jibrin Ibrahim

The essence of Nigeria politics is driven by a political economy model in which the formal economy of the country has a separate existence that is subordinated to a second more significant economic model in which the real drivers of the are the political actors who inject and subsequently extract liquidity into and from the system. My good friend S. A. Ndanusa explains it in the following manner. Nigeria has two economies. There is the official economy monitored by the National Bureau of Statistics. That is where we find inflation, GDP, unemployment, exchange rates and enough decimal points to persuade us that our suffering has been carefully calculated. Then there is the economy of politics. This second economy is not fully captured in official statistics, although it may be one of the fastest growing sectors in the country. It has investors, brokers, wholesalers, retailers, consultants, apprentices and professional praise singers. Its branches extend from Abuja to every state capital, local government, ward and WhatsApp group.

He adds that it is the only sector in which nobody complains about a shortage of liquidity during an election year. He concludes that the political economy asks how power distributes wealth. The economy of politics asks how wealth acquires power and what it expects after making the acquisition. There is no element of the economy or society that is today not dictated by the interests and desires of those who have monopolized the country’s wealth. The tragedy of the system is that no economic operator can survive outside the system of political corruption. The system has today reached its zenith and even the ordinary voter is being boxed into exchanging their vote for a monetary payment. This has emptied the electoral system of issues, principles and values as the mandate becomes an ordinary commodity.

In the recently concluded Osun governorship election, the two leading parties were estimated to have spent over one hundred billion naira each buying votes. This prompted the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) “to urgently, jointly and transparently investigate reported cases of vote-buying, financial inducement, illegal election financing, voter intimidation, violence, misuse of public resources and other electoral offences in connection with the 2026 Osun State governorship election.” These oversight organisations have however watched previous vote buying episodes without punishing guilty parties.

The problem is that in practice, the Nigerian state is deeply implicated and supports corruption in the electoral system. Of course, I am aware that the law does not formally support it.  Sections 125, 131 and 132 of the Electoral Act 2026 criminalises bribery, undue influence and the use or threat of violence to influence voting. The Act also establishes political-finance safeguards, including contribution and expenditure limits and post-election disclosure requirements under sections 91–94. In addition, Section 138(1) permits an election to be questioned where it was invalid by reason of ‘corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of this Act’, while section 139 addresses non-compliance that may substantially affect an election result.” The allegations of corruption preceding election day, electoral bribery and other offences also raise concerns under sections 14(2)(a), 15(5), 17(2)(a), 117 and 178 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), which underpin democratic participation and the right to free, fair and legitimate elections free from corruption. The problem is that the law is useless if the State refuses to prosecute those who violate its provisions.

In a situation in which the majority of the people voted into office go in on the basis of corrupt acts, the entire society is sucked into the system. The individuals who bribe for votes do so to reap the financial rewards expected in the office. Those who have voted them in have pocketed their own cash for their labour. The religious leaders who prayed for victory in the elections have also received their pay knowing fully well that the religion they preach condemns corruption. Their communities, states, zones and regions also support the corrupt political class. No one stands for moral and ethical values. That is the contemporary tragedy of Nigerian society. We have lost our moral compass.

I am fearful of the 2027 general elections. It is preparing to become the highest manifestation of corrupt politics in the history of Nigeria. The State, its resources and its agencies are all being mobilised to ensure victory for corruption. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fully mobilizing the State to deliver his desired outcome. In the process, all the red lines are being crossed. His campaign council not only has the major political office holders such as governors and ministers. It has also incorporated the top technicians of the State machine. For example, Dr. Abisoye, the DG of NIMC and guardian of the data of all Nigerians is in the Council. She controls the biometric fingerprints, the NINs identity, the photos and the addresses of over 136 million Nigerians. That same woman is now the Director of Data Management for the APC Presidential Campaign Council. In election administration, the appearance of neutrality of officialdom is fundamental. Why should the person that controls official data of all Nigerians be given the opportunity to be able to use such data for the interest of one candidate in the election who also happens to be the sitting president of the country. The woman sworn to protect our privacy as citizens is now working for a political party. It is a flagrant conflict of interest and a threat to the identity of every Nigerian citizen.

We also have in the APC Campaign Council Zacheus Adedeji, the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service. In his day job, he is charged with collecting tax from all Nigerian workers, traders, companies and businesses. He controls the revenue inflow for Nigerian government projects and central to his collection strategy is investigating who is wealthy in Nigeria and should be made to pay more tax. The same person is now the Deputy Director of fund raising for President Tinubu’s campaign. The risk of using the official data he has been collecting for the campaign is very real. The distinction between public interest and the personal campaign of President Tinubu has essentially disappeared as the tax collector is transformed into the campaign collector.

If the repositories of official data of the country are being dragged into the campaign, the danger is that the law enforcement agencies such as the police, army and DSS can be dragged in as well. In that case, will they not add the judiciary, and indeed the entire State machine. Citizens have a huge responsibility of monitoring and resisting this incorporation of the machinery of the state into election corruption even in the context of the already disturbing commodification of the electoral mandate.

A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.