Rita Odafe
An individual suspected of attempting to buy votes was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) during the ongoing gubernatorial election in Ondo.
The suspect was found in possession of two bags filled with cash, reportedly meant for bribing voters, as reported by SaharaReporters.
This incident occurred at Ward 4, Polling Unit 007, near St. Stephen’s Primary School in Akure, Ondo State, around 9 AM on Saturday.
There have been reports of various political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), engaging in vote-buying during the election.
SaharaReporters noted that this activity appears to be prominent in Irele Local Government Area.
At Polling Unit 007 (PU007) in Ajagba Ward 2, agents from some political parties were seen distributing signed papers to voters, which served as tickets for payment after they cast their votes.
Some voters indicated that these papers would be needed to claim cash from the agents post-election, although they were uncertain about the specific payment amounts.
Earlier in the day, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the APC’s candidate for governor in Ondo, participated in the election by voting early at his designated polling unit.
The candidate arrived at Igbo Ward 4, in the Obenla community, Ilaje Local Government Area at 8:46 AM, accompanied by his security team, and completed his voting by 8:48 AM.
This election is significant as Aiyedatiwa is campaigning for re-election on the APC platform.
Several voters reported issues with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices at polling stations.
One voter, Omotayo Akinlami, shared with SaharaReporters at Polling Unit 004 in Apoi Ward 2, Kiribo, Ese-Odo Local Government Area that the malfunctioning BVAS was hindering the electoral process in their area. He suggested that INEC should consider using manual accreditation instead.
