Obi: Vote-buying Killing Nigeria Slowly

•LP owns up to blame over defections

ChuksOkocha in Abuja

The Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, has lamented the impact of vote buying on the nation’s electoral process and warned that the culture of selling and buying votes was already destroying Nigeria from within.

He likened it to a ‘slow poison’ that killed both democracy and development unknowing.

Obi said those who bought votes were not being generous, but merely purchasing the licence to loot public funds.

“They invest in bribing voters today only to plunder schools, hospitals, roads, and jobs tomorrow. They are not leaders, they are licensed looters,” he declared.

Obi further stressed that those who sold their votes were not victims alone; they were also accomplices.

“Every time you trade your ballot for money, you mortgage your children’s future for crumbs. You sell away the hospital bed that may save your life, the classrooms that should educate your children, and the jobs that should lift your family out of poverty.

“If your vote was worthless, no one would pay for it. The real power is not in their money, it is in your conscience, your courage, and your choice,” he said.

Obi called on Nigerians to resist the politics of bribery and rise above temporary gains, warning that the nation faced a stark choice of either to remain trapped in poverty through vote-selling, or break free by electing leaders who built rather than loot.

“A new Nigeria is possible,” he said, adding: “But it will only be born the day we stop auctioning our future for cash.”

Meanwhile, the Labour Party (LP) has admitted responsibility for the wave of defections that has hit the party in recent months, citing weak background checks on candidates fielded during the 2023 general election.

Speaking during a virtual meeting organised by the Coalition for the Defence of Democracy (COPDEM), the party’s interim National Chairman, Senator Esther NenadiUsman, said the party’s rapid rise in 2023 attracted opportunistic politicians, who did not share its ideology.

“In many cases, candidates were fielded without thorough background checks,” she acknowledged, adding that while intimidation by the ruling party could not be ruled out, Labour Party must take part of the blame.

Usman explained that the ongoing reforms within the party were aimed at ensuring that only individuals who genuinely shared LP’s philosophy and values would contest under its platform in the future.

“Our platform will not be a mere stepping stone for opportunists, but a home for patriots committed to service and transformation,” she declared.

While admitting that the party has suffered setbacks, the interim chairman stressed that LP remained resilient and working to consolidate its base.

“With the reforms being implemented, we are poised not only to replicate but to surpass the successes of 2023,” she said.

She disclosed that the National Executive Council (NEC) has approved strategic programmes, including a comprehensive membership registration and revalidation drive, targeting 10 million new members, series of ward, local government, and state congresses, culminating in a national convention to elect substantive leadership before the end of the year.

According to Usman, these steps would ensure that the Labour Party was fully prepared to contest and win in 2027.

She further called on COPDEM members to move beyond “passive observation” and commit to active participation in shaping the future of both the party and Nigeria.