Ondo Election 2024: Heavy Militarization, Massive Vote Buying – Confidence in Poll | The Guardian Nigeria news

Saturday’s Ondo governorship election will surely go down in the list of the most peaceful elections in the state’s history given the absence of violence during the polls.

Thanks to the early arrival of voting materials and Election Commission representatives, the election started on a clean note as the electorate patiently awaited their arrival.

However, the process was heavily militarized with the presence of military operatives who set up various nodes in many parts of the state.

During election monitoring, no fewer than 30 military barricades were seen between Akure, the state capital, and Oke-Agbe, the headquarters of Akoko North West, with heavily manned personnel stopping journalists and election observers.

The situation was tense at the Ikare junction in Owo when the military refused to open the barricaded road for journalists despite being presented with identification tags.

At the Semu-Semu Roundabout in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North-East Local Council Area, some soldiers who were also on the road prevented journalists and representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from entering the road for over 30 minutes . . However, it took the intervention of higher authorities before the soldiers allowed the accredited personnel to continue with their task.

Meanwhile, in Owo and Akoko in the North senatorial district of the state, voters turned out in full force for the exercise as they queued up to vote for their chosen candidate.

Later, it turned out that the high voter turnout was the result of vote trading, which was observed at various polling stations where monitoring was carried out.

In Unit 10, Ward 1, Edo/Ishakunmi in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North East Local Council, some people running for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were seen wooing voters by giving N15,000. This is just as the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also been accused of inducing voters with cash.

The findings also showed that the funds were distributed between all chambers, with the amount ranging from €35 million to €64 million.

The vote-buying syndrome was compounded by the presence of some neighboring APC and PDP governors in Ondo who, under the guise of mobilizing indigenes of their states residing in Ondo to vote for their party candidates, ended up spending money to induce voters. .

It’s likely a new way to reach voters through out-of-state natives who live in states with off-cycle elections.

Speaking on the situation, a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly representing Akoko North East Constituency, Rasheed Elegbeleye and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lamented that elections in Nigeria are now for the highest bidder. .

According to Elegbeleye, “the highest bidder won. APC shared N15,000 for this unit. When people heard that they were sharing money, everyone came together.”

On his part, a former member of the House of Representatives, Gbenga Elegbeleye, described the election in the division as peaceful and without rancour.

According to him, “People voted. It was massive and I have to commend INEC again for its integrity and transparency. Mass turnout. Voters came as early as seven o’clock in the morning. There is no bribery at this polling station, people vote according to their conscience. Votes are not for sale here. So they voted according to the choice of the candidate they wanted to vote for. No incentive. If anyone should give, I think it should be me, but I don’t give it to anyone.”

The same scenario was in Edo District, Igbede Unit 7, Ikare-Akoko Local Council and Polling Station 003, Ibewari 1, Post Office Premises, Ward 14-Oba-Akoko, South West Areas of Akoko Local Council of the State, with some agents on the ground to buy voters’ votes.

However, at Polling Station 2, Ward 15, Okede, Oba Akoko Baptist Primary School, Akoko South West, the election did not take place until 12 noon due to the inability of BIVAS to capture voters due to weather conditions in the area. .

While commending the INEC officials for arriving early for the exercise, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who exercised his right at Ward 03, Unit 17, Courtroom/Igafo/Araoe in Akoko North West LGA, said: “Akoko The Northwest is never a troubled place.

“In the 2023 elections, there was no cancellation of a single precinct. There were no by-elections in 2024, and there were none in 2019. So, we are peaceful people, we believe in democratic principles. We let the people come and vote, we let the people decide. You can see that the atmosphere is calm, more festive.

“INEC has been fantastic because until now I have been getting calls as early as 7am to say they are already at the polling station. So the preparedness looks at the highest level.”

But while Tundzi-Ojo denied cases of vote-rigging, Zenith Labor Party candidate Abbas Mimiko and PDP deputy governorship candidate Festus Akingbaso alleged that the APC induced voters with cash.

Mimiko, who cast his vote at Open Space under Mango Tree Unit 020, Ondo West Local Council, was angered when he challenged INEC officials and policemen to facilitate vote bribery in his precinct, just like Akingbaso, whose popularity surpasses that of the heads state APC Ade Adetimehin and Dr. Pius Akinyelure in Idanre argued that the APC is not only bribed votes, but also incited bandits to disrupt voting in the area.

To further substantiate allegations of vote-rigging, DSS officials were said to have arrested the suspected man at Ward 4, Polling Station 007, outside St. Stephen’s Primary School, Akure, Ondo State. The suspect was reportedly caught with two bags of money meant to induce voters during the election.

But the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Ondo State, Mr. Steve Otaloro, debunked claims that the ruling party had sent thugs to Ofosun in Idanre Local Government Area to disrupt the governorship election.

A spokesman for the party said that the information they had received was that there was “nothing of the sort”.

Similarly, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Otaloro, said: “I am in an APC situation now. First of all, let me say that the person you mentioned is the deputy governorship candidate Agbul Ajayi of the PDP. And if you remember, PDP had a press conference two days ago claiming that the kind of violence that happened in that place was by APCs. In all the places he mentioned, was he on earth in all those places? He should have been in his precinct; even if he was called, he had to make due diligence to be there.”

Abiola Makinde, the CEO of the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation, also said he was not aware of vote-rigging or violence during the election.

He said the INEC and security officials were excellent and that the electorate behaved impeccably.

However, as at 7:00 p.m., INEC had already uploaded over 90 percent of the results from the 18 local governments into its IREV, with the electorate expecting the commission to announce the ultimate winner.