In Nigeria, the act of vote-buying have taken center stage since the inception of the Fourth Republic. This is obviously hindering the democratization process in Nigeria. Political parties and candidates see elections as a do-or-die affair and therefore, a must-win situation. Thus, they resort to all manner of electoral misconduct such as vote-buying, election rigging, voter suppression, ballot tampering, intimidation and coercion, which has gradually crippled the electoral process.

This paper, therefore examines the factors and consequences of vote buying on the electoral process and its implication on good governance in Nigeria. It argues that such factors as ideological deficiency, poor political structure and inadequate institutionalization of political parties amongst others contribute to entrenching bad governance, and insufficient service delivery to the citizenry. It further argues that the poor standard of living of the populace has made them very vulnerable to the temptation of selling their votes to the highest bidder, thereby losing their freedom to make right and informed choices, which would not represent their true wishes.

The study employs the theory of prebendalism and the theory of the two publics in explaining how the political system has experienced the monetization and materialization of electioneering and consequent partisan relations in Nigeria. The exchange of gifts, money, food items, and so on, for votes as seen in the act of vote buying and selling, is a necessary consequence of prebendal and the two public nature of politics. Political parties engage in different strategies such as pre-paid and post-paid method of buying votes, in order to secure victory.

This situation, therefore, portends danger towards the democratization process of electing credible leaders which in turn have implication on good governance.

However, to minimize the act of vote buying and selling in Nigeria’s political system, several recommendations were made such as improving the living standard of the populace by providing employment and other forms of socio-economic empowerment by the government, instituting electoral offences commission, and ensure there is full enforcement of the law upon any individual who is found violating the prescribed law so as to serve as a deterrent to others in the future.