Former presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said that vote-buying is an investment by Nigerian politicians to yield corruption.
He recently revealed that politicians who buy votes are simply securing a “licence to plunder” public funds.
Speaking via his X account, Obi shared that after buying the votes, the culprits end up using their position to divert resources meant for schools, hospitals, and jobs into their personal pockets.
According to him, Nigerians should stop seeing vote-buying as an act of kindness because it is clearly a strategic move by “looters” rather than leaders.
He stated that the actions of such bad politicians should be frowned upon since it’ll end up robbing Nigeria of its dignity.
“Vote-buying is one of the greatest dangers confronting our democracy. It is never an act of kindness; it is a calculated investment in corruption. Those who buy votes do so with only one intention—to gain access to public funds. By bribing voters today, they are purchasing a licence to plunder tomorrow.
And when they get into office, the money meant for schools, hospitals, roads, and jobs is diverted into private pockets. Such people are not leaders—they are looters. Their actions rob our society of dignity, development, and even life itself,” he wrote.
He further challenged the notion that voters are innocent victims, stressing that those who sell their votes are accomplices who must be called out as well.
Obi concluded by saying that politicians can only loot the country when citizens hand them the key.
“But those who sell their votes are not innocent either. When you exchange your ballot for money or material gain, you are not just selling a vote—you are selling your future. You are selling away the schools your children should attend, the hospitals that should save lives, and the jobs that should lift families out of poverty. In truth, you mortgage your tomorrow for a token that cannot sustain you today.
Looters can only loot when we hand them the key. If your vote had no value, nobody would be desperate to buy it. The fact that millions are spent on vote-buying shows that your ballot is priceless. The real power does not lie in their money. It lies in your conscience, your courage, and your vote.”
The choice is ours. We either keep selling our votes and remain trapped in poverty and bad governance, or we rise above temporary gain and reclaim the future of our nation. Every Nigerian must take responsibility. Let us reject the politics of bribery and embrace the politics of service. Let us elect leaders who will build, not loot,” he added.
