Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed worries over the spate of vote buying and delegate manipulation during party primaries.
Yakubu called on civil society organizations, CSOs to start paying attention to primary elections the same way they focus their attention on secondary elections.
Yakubu made the call during INEC’s first regular quarterly consultative meeting with Civil Society organizations in Abuja on Tuesday.
The meeting, which brought together leaders of civil society organizations, INEC officials across the country, was to update the CSOs the preparedness of INEC for the upcoming Anambra State Governorship election scheduled for November 8, 2025, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Area Council election set for February 21, 2026.
“Some delegates openly boasted of how much money they made from aspirants during party primaries’” he said.
According to him, CSOs must expand their monitoring efforts beyond the secondary elections.
“It is time to cast your net wide by focusing on the incidence of delegate-buying by aspirants during primaries,” he added.
“Only the candidates nominated by the political parties are placed on the ballot paper for citizens to vote for on Election Day.”
Media Talk Africa reports that political parties will hold their primaries from March 20 to April 10, 2025 for the Anambra State Governorship election, which happens to be the electoral umpires major event the year.
Similarly, the FCT Area Council election, which will elect six Chairmen and 62 Councillors, is scheduled for February 21, 2026.
The INEC boss called on CSOs to focus their attention on monitoring the processes to ensure compliance with electoral laws and regulations.
