DOI: 10.36344/ccijhss.2019.v06i06.001

Pages: 44-50

This paper explores the phenomenon of vote trading and use of money to entice the electorates in Nigeria‟s democracy process and the implications on the future of democratic governance in the world‟s most populous black nation. Vote trading has been in existence in Nigeria‟s electoral system since independence. Although it is seen globally as an illegal act, the trend in the Nigerian case is overwhelming with political parties and their agents going all out to buy the conscience of the electorates to their favour during elections. The electoral body in Nigeria which has been responsible for monitoring and regulating the expenses of candidates and political parties during elections has also not been completely impartial in such obligations. The Electoral Act of 2010 clearly states the rules guiding campaign expenses and during the campaign of the 2019 general elections, the electoral body publicly informed all political parties about the spending limit for campaigns into public offices but this was majorly a mere public announcement as nothing concrete was done to curb the spending of these political parties and candidates who found other means to beat the electoral body to it. Vote trading is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the Nigerian electoral Process with negative consequences on the nation‟s Democratic governance.