Eyewitnesses report cash exchanges as allegations of vote-buying grow in the ongoing Ekiti governorship poll

Fawaz Adebisi

Eyewitnesses, dispatched by the Center for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID for the Ekiti State governorship elections, say they saw party operatives handing cash directly to voters on Saturday, as new reports on the ground add weight to earlier suspicions of an organized vote-buying scheme.

In Emure LGA, a monitor at St Andrew’s Primary School reported around 9.50am that groups of ten voters at a time were being directed to a nearby location and promised ₦10,000 each after voting. Some voters said in Yoruba that they had already secretly collected the money before voting.

At a second polling unit in the same location, the inspector said the same activity was occurring, although they failed to get a clear view of who was distributing the money after coming under suspicion.

The observer said the names were being written down after voters had cast their ballots, apparently to track who would receive payment, and that one person at the scene had mentioned the PDP, although this was not confirmed.

In a separate report from the Aofin area, a monitor reported seeing a party agent handing cash directly to an elderly woman at around 10.42am. The same monitor said the BVAS machine ran slowly and failed to verify some older female voters, and that local leaders had complained of favoritism.

An observer in Ise/Orun LGA said a police officer warned party operatives to stay out of sight after noticing the observer’s approach, suggesting the officer was aware that money was being distributed and acted to shield the officers from observation. The claim has not been independently verified.

These accounts add to a pattern reported earlier in the day. Observers in Ekiti East, Ilejemeje and Ido-Osi LGAs had separately reported party operatives issuing numbered vouchers to voters immediately after voting, a tactic typically used to track recipients for later payment.

A monitor in Ikere LGA also reported that a sitting councilor publicly revealed his ballot paper after voting, and security personnel in Ward 5 of Ekiti Southwest LGA claimed that an anonymous election observer had promised them food and ₦3,000 each which were never delivered.

Minor incentives were also reported in Ijero LGA, where voters at a polling unit in Ipoti Ward B were seen drinking free drinks after voting and where a party agent on duty was a person with a disability.

Technical problems affected voting in some areas. In the Irona neighborhood of Ado LGA, BVAS fingerprint and facial recognition checks temporarily failed, preventing some voters from being accredited; the system was later reinstated and affected voters were able to return and vote. A health center in Ijero LGA also suffered an initial BVAS malfunction which delayed accreditation.

Voter turnout appeared uneven by mid-morning. Observers in Ise/Orun LGA reported low voter turnout at two polling units, with one describing polling staff as inactive due to no voters queuing. An observer in Ilejemeje LGA reported a similarly peaceful scene, although voting was taking place peacefully with the police, a presiding officer and an assistant presiding officer on duty.

Elsewhere, voting continued without any major incidents. Reports from Emure, Oye, Ado and parts of Ikere describe orderly accreditation, with elderly voters and persons with disabilities generally given priority in queues and security personnel visible in most places.

None of the vote-buying allegations reported so far have been independently verified, and the identities of the party operatives, police officer and election observer named in monitor reports remain unconfirmed. This is a developing story and will be updated as voting progresses towards the 2.30pm deadline.

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