EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede has revealed that some governorship aspirants spent between N20 billion and N30 billion to win their parties’ primary elections, warning that the trend threatens democracy and encourages corruption in public office.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Wednesday while delivering the inaugural High-Level Guest Speakers’ Series organised by the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies (CPSS) at the University of Ilorin. The lecture was themed, “De-risking and Mobilising Critical Stakeholders for Peaceful and Credible 2027 Elections in Nigeria”.
According to him, the huge amount of money spent during elections often pushes elected officials to divert public funds after taking office in an effort to recover their investments.
He said the EFCC remains committed to tackling vote-buying and other forms of financial inducement that weaken Nigeria’s electoral process.
“The commercialisation of votes weakens the foundation of good governance because it compromises the political recruitment process. Leaders who buy their way into office are more likely to focus on recovering their investments rather than serving the public interest”, he said.
Olukoyede disclosed that the EFCC has made several arrests nationwide over vote-buying and related electoral offences, with a number of convictions already secured. Those prosecuted, he said, include politicians, electoral officials and ordinary citizens.
He warned that impunity during elections could threaten democracy and national stability, stressing that there must be no sacred cows in enforcing electoral laws.
The EFCC chairman also announced plans to deploy drones and other technology to improve election monitoring ahead of the 2027 general elections, especially in tracking vote-buying at polling units.
He urged political parties, supporters, INEC, security agencies, civil society groups, the media and other stakeholders to work together for peaceful, free and credible elections.
