By Oluwagbemiga Toye
The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the Ekiti State election, Ambassador Dare Bejide, has alleged incidents of vote buying and assault of his driver at his polling unit during Saturday’s governorship poll.
Bejide, who cast his vote at Polling Unit 004, Ward 2, Oke Adura, Ilawe-Ekiti, accused members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of openly distributing money to voters in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election.
Speaking with journalists shortly after voting, the ADC candidate alleged that several APC leaders, including local government officials, gathered at the polling unit with large sums of money for vote-buying purposes.
He further claimed that his driver sustained injuries during an altercation at the polling unit while trying to shield him from being pushed. According to Bejide, the injured driver was subsequently taken to a hospital for treatment.
The ADC flagbearer said the incident had been reported to the police, but expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as the inadequate response of security personnel at the scene.
Bejide condemned the alleged vote-buying activities, describing them as a violation of democratic values and an embarrassment to the electoral process.
In the same vein the son of the ADC flag bearer, Mr OLUMIDE Bejide alleged that APC chieftains flooded all polling units in Ilawe with large sum of money ,distributing to electorates ,saying such act was against the rules of INEC . He said APC leaders were fond of buying the conscience of the masses .
He said the money they were throwing about during the election was enough to fix all the bad roads in Ekiti . He condemned the act.
Responding to the allegations, APC chieftain Makinde Araoye dismissed the claims and maintained that the election was being conducted peacefully across the state.
Araoye said journalists that the electoral process had been smooth, noting that improvements in the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) technology had significantly reduced the time required for voter accreditation and balloting.
He expressed confidence that Governor Biodun Oyebanji would secure re-election, arguing that the governor’s performance in office had earned him widespread support among residents.
Addressing allegations that he was involved in a confrontation with Bejide at the polling unit, Araoye denied any wrong doing. He said he was merely visiting polling units within his ward to monitor the electoral process when a disagreement occurred.
According to him, the dispute arose after Bejide allegedly attempted to prevent him from moving around the polling area.
Araoye insisted that he had every right to observe activities within his ward and acted only in self-defence.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the police nor the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had issued an official statement regarding the allegations raised by the ADC candidate.
