MONEY POLITICS AND THE CHALLENGES OF ELECTORAL INTERGRITY IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE 2019 GENERAL ELECTION IN GOMBE STATE

ABSTRACT Vote-buying has increasingly become a dominant and troubling feature of Nigeria’s electoral process. Its persistence poses serious challenges to democratic governance, as money politics continues to be widely accepted as a norm in political activities. This trend raises deep concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s democratic system. The study seeks to identify the factors driving the prevalence of money in Nigerian politics, examine its implications for democratic governance, assess whether the practice can be curtailed, and propose practical solutions to address the challenges it presents. The study adopted a descriptive survey design, with data collected from 75 respondents through structured questionnaires. Elite theory was employed as the theoretical framework to explain the phenomenon, while the research design was rooted in a social survey approach with quantitative methods of data collection. Despite existing electoral laws and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) prohibition of vote-buying, the practice has become deeply entrenched in Nigeria’s elections. This underscores the need to critically interrogate the dynamics of money politics and its implications for free, fair, credible, and widely accepted elections. Findings from the study reveal that money politics undermines democratic legitimacy and erodes public trust in government policies and reforms. Based on these findings, the study recommends that good governance, rooted in the principles of democracy, must be prioritized. A legitimate government is one that commands the trust and support of the majority of its citizens. However, vote-buying threatens this essential foundation of democracy by weakening legitimacy and fostering distrust.