Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has said politicians who engage in vote-buying are not leaders but looters.

In a statement on X titled, 'The True Cost of Selling and Buying Votes,' Obi condemned the act and those who sell their votes.

The former governor of Anambra State made this statement a few days after reports surfaced of vote-buying in the just-concluded nationwide by-elections.

He said, "Vote-buying is one of the greatest dangers confronting our democracy. It is never an act of kindness; it is a calculated investment in corruption. Those who buy votes do so with only one intention—to gain access to public funds. By bribing voters today, they are purchasing a licence to plunder tomorrow. And when they get into office, the money meant for schools, hospitals, roads, and jobs is diverted into private pockets. Such people are not leaders—they are looters. Their actions rob our society of dignity, development, and even life itself.

"But those who sell their votes are not innocent either. When you exchange your ballot for money or material gain, you are not just selling a vote—you are selling your future. You are selling away the schools your children should attend, the hospitals that should save lives, and the jobs that should lift families out of poverty. In truth, you mortgage your tomorrow for a token that can not sustain you today.

"The reality is simple: looters can only loot when we hand them the key. If your vote had no value, nobody would be desperate to buy it. The fact that millions are spent on vote-buying shows that your ballot is priceless. The real power does not lie in their money. It lies in your conscience, your courage, and your vote.

"The choice is ours. We either keep selling our votes and remain trapped in poverty and bad governance, or we rise above temporary gain and reclaim the future of our nation. Every Nigerian must take responsibility. Let us reject the politics of bribery and embrace the politics of service. Let us elect leaders who will build, not loot."

ASA