Politics
Fayemi wins as APC, PDP woo voters with cash
Olufemi Atoyebi, Tunde Ajaja and Tobi Aworinde
The All Progressives Congress candidate in the Ekiti State governorship election, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has won the poll held on Saturday.
From the results of the 16 local government areas in the state, Fayemi defeated his closest rival, Prof. Kolapo Olusola of the Peoples Democratic Party, in 12 LGAs.
Fayemi polled 197,459 while Olusola scored 178,114 votes.
The election witnessed a large turnout of voters and early arrival of the ad hoc staff and supervisors of INEC at polling units.
Voting materials also arrived early in many polling units across the state while voters conducted themselves well during accreditation process.
But tension set in as allegations of vote-buying were levelled against party agents by voters in some polling units. In some cases, the situation led to friction among loyalists of various political parties.
At Ward 12 in the Igbehin area of Ado-Ekiti, an elderly voter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, accused the All Progressives Congress of offering N5,000 to those who had the Permanent Voter Card to secure their votes. He said he rejected the offer.
“I was offered N5,000 to vote for the party but I rejected it. I am 73 years old retired teacher. I cannot allow the future of my children to be bought by moneybags. I don’t know how we descended to this level when people brazenly offer money to people to secure their votes. It was not like this in the past. Will our votes count with this problem?” he asked.
In Ayegbaju and Oye-Ekiti, it was alleged that party agents paid those who had no PVC N2,000 to vote in connivance with the INEC officials.
A source, who simply identified herself as Bimbo, said after those who had PVC had voted, some of the remaining ballot papers were thumb-printed by youths who had no PVC with the promise of financial gratification.
She said, “If you look well and observe the polling units, the INEC officials connive to allow this thing to happen. They pretended to check the fingerprint but it is fraud they are perpetrating.”
The Peoples Democratic Party was also accused of offering voters N3,000 each to secure their votes. Apart from the reported N3,000 allegedly paid to some civil servants and pensioners by the PDP-led state government, the party agents were accused of going from house to house, approaching voters who possessed PVC.
INEC’s preparation, which the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Abdulganiy Raji, had described as foolproof, failed some of the tests on the election day. Although election materials got to many of the polling units early, there were reports of the card readers failing to function properly.
At Ward 11, Unit 009 in Ishan-Ekiti, where the APC candidate, Kayode Fayemi, voted, his wife, Erelu Bisi, could not vote immediately as the card reader failed to recognise her PVC. The husband expressed apprehension over the situation, saying her vote must count for him.
Loyalists of the PDP in Ado-Ekiti also accused INEC of deliberately allowing the APC supporters to vote while card readers rejected PDP voters in some of the polling units.
At the polling unit in front of the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, a man, who identified himself as a youth leader of the PDP in his ward, and who also identified himself as Alawe, said the card reader failed to recognise more than half of the people who wanted to vote for the PDP candidate, Kolapo Olusola.
Elsewhere in Ayede, in the North Senatorial District of the state, some voters also accused INEC of failure to perfect the technology and innovations deployed for the election before introducing them to the Ekiti election.
The election also recorded brigandage and fighting in some parts of the state. A man was injured in a fight among party supporters at Unit 11, Ward 04, at Ijigbo junction in Ado-Ekiti around 7.45am as queues were being formed after the arrival of INEC officials. It was not clear what caused the fight but it was quickly checked by policemen at the unit.
One of our correspondents, who visited polling units in the Fajuyi area of Ado-Ekiti, observed a large turnout of voters with glaring cases of vote-buying which voters called ‘see and buy.’ It was observed that the vote buyers demanded evidence of PVC and assurance that the seller would vote for their party before offering the money.
At Ward 10, Unit 02, security operatives accosted a female voter who had followed the due process of accreditation and voting, only to attempt photographing her ballot paper. The incident prompted uproar from other voters which led female officers to seize the voter’s mobile telephone while also compelling her to delete the photograph.
A source confirmed to SUNDAY PUNCH that a woman sitting by the new Fajuyi Bridge with three bags paid voters on behalf of one of the major political parties.
At one scene, a middle-aged man approached a youth and accused him of voting at the nearby Ward 10, Unit 13 and leaving the polling station to disrupt the conduct at Ward 10, Unit 02.
Another man was heard complaining that he voted and showed evidence to a political party as he demanded payment.
At Ward 10, Unit 13 in Ado-Ekiti, voters were agitated as a domestic electoral observer confided in one of our correspondents that the ‘see and buy’ arrangement had been at play, albeit discreetly.
The atmosphere at the ward was chaotic as a large number of frustrated voters unsuccessfully tried to get registered as a result of a malfunctioned card reader. Elderly men and women stood in the sun for more than three hours before provision was made for the replacement of the faulty card reader.
According to an electoral observer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, other areas that experienced pockets of violence included Ojumose, Damilore and Oke-Ila in Ado-Ekiti.
The source said policemen invited to the scene of the violence in Ojumose shot indiscriminately into the air to disperse the thugs. The source added that cases of ‘see and buy’ were also prevalent in the aforementioned areas
Culled from Punch
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
- European Commission provides €1 billion in macro-financial assistance to Egypt December 23, 2024
- Visit of Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri to Mauritius (December 20-22, 2024) December 23, 2024
- Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia: Pastoral message for Advent, December 2024 December 22, 2024
- The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Applauds Egypt’s Milestone Achievement in Medicines and Vaccine Regulation December 22, 2024
- Viewing of State House Christmas Decorations Attracts Record Crowd December 22, 2024
- Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan hold 4th Tripartite Technical Boundary Committee Meeting in Kampala December 22, 2024
- Eritrea: Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare Activity Assessment Meeting December 22, 2024
- Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) 2024: Building African Unicorns (and Gazelles) for Continental Economic Growth (By Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede) December 22, 2024
- Eritrea: President Isaias Holds Talks with Special Chinese Delegation December 21, 2024
- United States of America (US) Government and Ethiopia: Sustaining Gains and Accelerating Progress Toward Ending the HIV Epidemic December 21, 2024
- European Commission provides €1 billion in macro-financial assistance to Egypt December 23, 2024
- Visit of Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri to Mauritius (December 20-22, 2024) December 23, 2024
- Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia: Pastoral message for Advent, December 2024 December 22, 2024
- The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Applauds Egypt’s Milestone Achievement in Medicines and Vaccine Regulation December 22, 2024
- Viewing of State House Christmas Decorations Attracts Record Crowd December 22, 2024
- Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan hold 4th Tripartite Technical Boundary Committee Meeting in Kampala December 22, 2024
- Eritrea: Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare Activity Assessment Meeting December 22, 2024
-
Entertainment6 months agoAkanke Amororo: The New Yoruba Movie Everyone Is Talking About + Why People Are Rushing To YouTube To See It
-
Politics7 months agoGov Fubara And One Year of His Signature in Rivers By Nath Odili
-
Business7 months agoFIRSTBANK WINS 2024 BEST SME BANK IN NIGERIA AND BEST SME BANK IN AFRICA BY ASIAN BANKER AWARDS
-
Business5 months agoPROFILE: JESSICA AMARACHI OKU BY CHINEDU NSOFOR
You must be logged in to post a comment Login