…as FG okays quarterly policy dialogue
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA — Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Friday identified vote-buying as a major problem that the Federal Government must find ways to tackle ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In separate presentations at the 2026 National CSOs Summit held in Abuja, representatives of various organisations working to promote credible, transparent and inclusive elections in the country decried the repeated failure to prosecute individuals previously arrested for vote-buying.
They said the country’s electoral process would continue to be undermined unless stringent measures were adopted to ensure the prosecution and conviction of offenders, thereby serving as a deterrent to others.
In his remarks, the Executive Director of the Value Rebirth and Empowerment Initiative (VREI), Pastor Edewor Egedegbe, argued that a credible and peaceful election requires informed citizens.
He maintained that reports of inadequate funding for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “raise serious concerns about preparations for the election, which is just months away.”
He added that late funding not only disrupts the planning process but also increases the risk of avoidable failures.
Insisting that the electoral body had not done much in terms of voter enlightenment, Egedegbe said INEC must also open its books by publishing what it has received so far.
“It should start procurement of needed items and embark on the training of essential manpower.
“Democracy succeeds where citizens participate in the process without fear or intimidation,” he added.
For his part, the Executive Director of the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Center in Africa (PAACA), Chief Ezenwa Nwagwu, highlighted the importance of encouraging citizens to register and obtain the Permanent Voters Card (PVC), which he said carries more value than a bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card.
“This is what we should be emphasising. The cost of electricity is embedded in the PVC, so also is the cost of education and everything about life in the country.
“It is not about asking people to take money from candidates and vote their conscience. When you sell your PVC, it diminishes your citizenship.
“The fact that you think the law does not work in the country does not mean that you cannot be used as an example to show how the law works,” Nwagwu stated.
He blamed the recurring cases of vote-buying during elections on what he described as “the pauperisation of citizens.”
“Until we realise the powers we have as citizens, we will continue to shortchange ourselves.
“We should always ask ourselves this question: if votes don’t count, why then do politicians place value on your votes?
“As we move towards the 2027 general elections, we as citizens have to re-examine ourselves and take over the power of polling units from the politicians. The citizens must drive the process,” he insisted.
Meanwhile, the federal government said it had approved the establishment of a quarterly civil society policy dialogue forum to institutionalise citizens’ participation in policy formulation, implementation and evaluation.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the summit, said the forum would provide a structured platform for evidence-based advocacy and ensure that community-level concerns were reflected in government decisions.
He also pledged the FG’s commitment to expand civic space for social accountability, including greater collaboration with accredited CSOs on public finance transparency, budget tracking and monitoring of humanitarian and grassroots interventions.
“This administration firmly believes that no nation can achieve inclusive, equitable and sustainable development without a vibrant, credible and responsible civil society operating within an open and enabling civic space,” he added.
The National Convener of the CSOs Summit, Ambassador Kunle Yusuff, who is the Director-General of the Civil Society Organisations on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiative (CSCHEI), said the aim was to galvanise the various organisations to brainstorm on the way forward as the nation braces for another round of elections.
Yusuff said the summit was proposing a sustainable partnership compact through which the government, civil society and the private sector could work jointly on national priorities rather than operating from positions of suspicion.
According to him, the proposed framework will provide a mechanism for monitoring government policies, budgets and electoral promises, while ensuring that information generated from communities reaches relevant authorities.
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