Fawaz Adebisi
Eyewitnesses, deployed by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID for the Ekiti State governorship election say they saw party agents hand cash directly to voters on Saturday, as fresh field reports add weight to earlier suspicions of an organised vote-buying scheme.
In Emure LGA, a monitor at St Andrew’s Primary School reported around 9:50 a.m. that groups of ten voters at a time were being directed to a nearby venue and promised ₦10,000 each after casting their ballots. Some voters were heard saying, in Yoruba, that they had already secretly collected the money before voting.
At a second polling unit in the same location, the monitor said the same activity was happening, though they could not get a clear view of who was distributing the cash after coming under suspicion themselves.
The monitor said names were being written down after voters cast their ballots, apparently to track who would receive the payout, and that one person at the scene mentioned the PDP, though this has not been confirmed.
In a separate account from the Aofin area, a monitor reported witnessing a party agent hand cash directly to an elderly woman at around 10:42 a.m. The same monitor said the BVAS machine was working slowly and failed to verify some older female voters, and that local leaders had complained of favouritism.
A monitor in Ise/Orun LGA alleged that a police officer warned party agents to stay out of sight after noticing the monitor approaching, suggesting the officer was aware cash was being distributed and acted to shield the agents from observation. The claim has not been independently verified.
These accounts add to a pattern flagged earlier in the day. Monitors in Ekiti East, Ilejemeje and Ido-Osi LGAs had separately reported party agents issuing voters numbered slips immediately after they voted, a tactic typically used to track recipients for later payment.
A monitor in Ikere LGA also reported that a sitting councillor publicly revealed his marked ballot after voting, and security personnel in Ekiti Southwest LGA’s Ward 5 alleged that an unnamed election observer had promised them food and ₦3,000 each that was never delivered.
Minor inducements were also reported in Ijero LGA, where voters at a polling unit in Ipoti Ward B were seen taking free drinks after casting their ballots, and where a party agent on duty was a person with a disability.
Technical issues affected voting in a few areas. In Ado LGA’s Irona ward, BVAS fingerprint and facial recognition checks failed temporarily, preventing some voters from being accredited; the system was later reset and affected voters were able to return and vote. A health centre in Ijero LGA also experienced an early BVAS malfunction that delayed accreditation.
Turnout appeared uneven by mid-morning. Monitors in Ise/Orun LGA reported low voter numbers at two polling units, with one describing polling staff as idle due to an absence of voters in the queue. A monitor in Ilejemeje LGA reported a similarly quiet scene, though voting was proceeding peacefully with police, a presiding officer and an assistant presiding officer on duty.
Elsewhere, voting continued without a major incident. Reports from Emure, Oye, Ado and parts of Ikere described orderly accreditation, with elderly voters and persons with disabilities generally given priority in queues, and security personnel visible at most locations.
None of the vote-buying allegations reported so far have been independently verified, and the identities of the party agents, the police officer, and the election observer named in monitor accounts remain unconfirmed. This is a developing story and will be updated as voting progresses toward the scheduled 2:30 p.m. close.
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