The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu expressed worries regarding money politics threatening Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2023 general elections. He made this known during a one-day seminar held on Wednesday in Abuja by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).
Yakubu said there are three critical challenges facing the 2023 general elections which he listed as insecurity, fake news, and money politics.
According to him, “My third area of concern is the influence of money on politics and is becoming more present and the risk is that ours may soon become a plutocracy for the rich rather than a democracy for the people.
“The way money is exchanging hands is a source of concern. However, we have renewed our partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on this aspect”.
He however cited an example that trended on social media, when some women rejected money in an attempt to buy their votes but instead voted for their preferred candidate.
