Two very different political moments in Nasarawa and Bauchi are raising the same uncomfortable question ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections: what happens when political competition becomes more about money and weakened institutions than the quality of leadership?
A video circulating online shows Hajiya Maryam Wadada, wife of APC Nasarawa governorship candidate Senator Ahmed Wadada, distributing cash during a women-focused empowerment program. Reports say the program involves a ₦325 million allocation for 6,500 beneficiaries, with beneficiaries receiving cash and other support.
The program is being presented by supporters as economic empowerment. Critics, however, see the timing and political connection as raising legitimate questions about whether such distributions could become a form of inducement ahead of the 2027 election.
That distinction matters. Giving people money is not automatically vote-buying. The critical question is whether the money is being distributed as a genuine, transparent empowerment program or whether beneficiaries are being pressured, mobilized or rewarded for political support. A viral video alone cannot establish that.
But then comes Peter Obi’s warning at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi. Obi argued that Nigeria’s democratic problem goes beyond politicians allegedly manipulating elections. He accused institutions that should protect the process, including academics, lawmakers and members of the legal profession, of contributing to its deterioration. He contrasted today’s environment with his own successful legal challenge to the 2003 Anambra governorship election.
His most striking warning was that “professors are now aiding illiterates to rig elections.” Put the two stories together and the bigger concern becomes clearer.
Nigeria can spend billions preparing for elections, deploy technology and strengthen electoral rules, but if political actors can use financial inducements while institutions fail to enforce the boundaries consistently, the ballot itself becomes less powerful.
And that is what Nigerians should watch before 2027. Not simply who is giving out money, but whether there are clear rules governing political spending, whether enforcement is applied equally to ruling and opposition parties, and whether voters can make choices without economic desperation being exploited.
The real test of Nigeria’s democracy may therefore not be whether politicians stop giving people money. It is whether institutions become strong enough to distinguish genuine empowerment from political inducement and punish violations regardless of who is responsible.
