Primate Elijah Ayodele believes the EFCC won't be able to stop vote buying ahead of 2027. He says Nigerian politicians are simply too desperate.
In a statement released by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church leader made his position clear. He argued that stopping the practice would require arresting 98 percent of voters and candidates.
According to Primate Ayodele, politicians have weaponised poverty for electoral gain. Most Nigerians are prepared to sell their votes because of economic hardship.
"EFCC cannot stop vote buying in Nigeria," he told reporters. Despite warnings, he noted, the problem will persist in the 2027 election.
The cleric explained the scale of the problem bluntly. If security agencies truly arrested everyone involved, Nigerians would be filling detention cells on election day.
"There is no candidate that won't be involved in it," Primate Ayodele said. He stressed that no politician can escape participating in some form of vote buying.
He blamed the country's economic crisis for fuelling the practice. Millions of Nigerians cannot afford even one meal daily, he noted.
For impoverished citizens, vote buying becomes a lifeline. A small sum of money feels like a miracle when families are starving.
Primate Ayodele outlined what would actually work to end the problem. Nigeria must improve its economic situation significantly first.
"The only way vote buying can stop is if Nigeria becomes a better country economically," he said. Citizens need to afford basic necessities like food independently.
Once people can feed themselves properly, politicians won't be able to sway them with cash. That's when real electoral integrity becomes possible.
Without economic improvement, he warned, vote buying will never disappear. The system will continue as long as poverty persists in Nigeria.
Primate Ayodele's comments reflect growing concerns about election integrity. Many observers share his pessimism about breaking the vote-buying cycle.
