Vote-Buying and Violence Mar Osun State Governorship Election
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Accord Party have been accused of engaging in a widespread vote-buying campaign across Osun State as the governorship election approaches. Agents from both parties are reportedly offering voters between N10,000 and N20,000 ahead of today’s poll. Unlike previous elections, this practice has started six days before the voting day.
According to some voters, the parties have also collected the account numbers of thousands of voters a week before the election, with plans to credit them after voting. The governorship race is a tight contest, with Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party facing Bola Oyebamiji of the APC, Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress, and nine other candidates.
A total of 1,906,390 voters who have collected their Permanent Voter Cards are expected to participate in the election. Findings by correspondents revealed that both the Accord Party and the APC began distributing cash between Monday and Tuesday. In some instances, the voter inducement included food items and cash gifts, often laced with spiritual elements, as beneficiaries were forced to swear an oath to vote for the candidate of the party providing the items.
Viral videos circulated showing supporters of Adeleke and Oyebamiji openly distributing cash, salt, rice, and other items while asking beneficiaries not to betray them at the polls.
Ilesa: A Hub of Vote-Buying
In Ilesa, voters told Saturday PUNCH that the APC was disbursing N20,000 per voter across polling units in Ilesa East, Ilesa West, and Atakunmosa East LGAs. According to some beneficiaries, the money was being distributed at the house of an appointed APC chieftain in each polling unit. The vote-buying began on Tuesday and lasted until Friday.
One of the beneficiaries, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “I collected my N20,000 at the Bonnke area of Ilesa on Wednesday. The cash was in N1,000 and N500 denominations. We had over 200 voters and it was done unit by unit. I collected mine around 11am at the bungalow belonging to one of the APC chieftains in our unit.”
A human rights activist in Ilesa confirmed the vote-buying, stating that at the Coca-Cola area, people were given N20,000 each at one particular storey building. However, they had to show their voter card before being paid. At Abiola Avenue, APC members gave N20,000 to each voter.
At Iroye and Imo areas of Ilesa, it was gathered that the APC was distributing rice and an undisclosed amount of money to voters. A student leader in Iroye said, “They are APC supporters. They provided money and rice, but I don’t know the exact amount they were distributing. They were cursing the beneficiaries, saying it would not be well with them if they failed to vote for AMBO after collecting the money.”
While the APC was giving out N20,000, the Accord Party was disbursing N10,000 to voters. It was learned that at Olowu Village in Atakunmosa East LGA, Accord distributed N10,000 and asked beneficiaries to swear an oath of allegiance three weeks ago.
Osogbo and Iwo: Systematic Vote-Buying
In Osogbo LGA, the APC distributed N15,000 each to some voters across polling units in all 15 wards. An APC chieftain involved in the distribution confirmed that the party appointed three leaders in each ward to coordinate the exercise.
In Iwo LGA, N700,000 was budgeted for vote-buying in each of the 170 polling units across the 15 wards by the APC. According to an APC chieftain familiar with the process, the cash distribution began on Tuesday and was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report on Friday.
Ila and Ife: Cash and Oaths
In Ila, residents reported that both the Accord and the APC had been inducing voters with cash ranging from N15,000 to N20,000. While the APC was reportedly offering N15,000 per eligible voter, Accord offered N20,000. The inducement began on Monday.
In Ife, a member of the Hausa community disclosed that the APC was offering N15,000, while the Accord offered N10,000 per voter. Both parties also requested Permanent Voter Cards before making payments.
Ikire and Ede: Political Tensions
In Ikire, the hometown of the APC candidate, both the APC and the Accord Party were inducing voters with cash gifts ranging from N10,000 to N20,000. A resident of the town, Oreoluwa Tolulope, said supporters of Oyebamiji and those of the senator representing Osun West Senatorial District, Lere Oyewumi, flooded all the wards in the town with cash.
In Ede, Accord started distributing N10,000 to eligible voters as far back as two weeks ago. The party initially asked voters to form groups of 100 and offered each group N1m before resorting to paying N10,000 to individuals at polling units.
Police Warn Against Vote-Buying
Meanwhile, the police warned politicians and voters against vote-buying, stating that anyone caught would be arrested and prosecuted. The Force Public Relations Officer, Okokon Iniedu, described vote-buying as an electoral offence that would not be tolerated.
Violence and Security Concerns
Last week, an APC chieftain, Alhaja Falilat Yusuf, was seen in a viral video distributing bags of rice to women and urging them to vote for Oyebamiji. She also placed curses on anyone, especially women, who collected the rice but failed to vote for the APC candidate.
Similarly, some voters were seen taking an oath while collecting cash to vote for Adeleke. Police warn against vote-buying and have pledged adequate security for INEC ad hoc staff and National Youth Service Corps members throughout the electoral process.
Rising Violence and Security Deployments
Saturday PUNCH gathered that no fewer than eight persons were killed between Monday night and the early hours of Friday in Ilesa and Esa-Oke. Checks by Saturday PUNCH indicated that soldiers with Armoured Personnel Carrier were deployed in the Osun/Kwara boundary in Ora, Ifedayo LGA over rising tension in the state.
Campaign Cycles and Allegations of Violence
The APC accused Governor Adeleke of keeping suspected hoodlums in the Government House in Osogbo. Addressing journalists in Osogbo, a member of the media committee of the APC campaign council, Kehinde Ayantunji, called on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of Department of Service to act on the complaint.
The Accord Party, on the other hand, lamented alleged statewide attacks on members and supporters and the attendant consequences on their lives and property across the state.
Concerns Over Election Credibility
Analysing the events leading to the election, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, expressed concern that the outcome of the poll might not be credible, citing widespread vote-buying and violence. He condemned the development as the weaponisation of poverty and the monetisation of politics.
Itodo warned that attempts to undermine electoral institutions and create an atmosphere of intimidation could affect the credibility of the election. He urged voters to vote their conscience and highlighted the alarming rate of voter inducement and violence in the build-up to the election.
