The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Ekiti, Dare Abejide, has described the election as a “bad day for democracy”.
Abejide stated this while he featured on Channels Television last night, insisting that the exercise that gave Governor Biodun Oyebanji a fresh four-year term was defective.
First, it was a pretty bad election. It was a very awful day for democracy in the state yesterday. “It was a day democracy took flight from Ekiti State,” the two-time Secretary to the Government of Ekiti State stated on the current affairs programme.
“It was a day the polling units, especially my polling booth became a market for politicians to canvass for votes, sell and buy votes. That was a day when the agents of security threw down their jobs and joined the oppressor. It was a day where hungry people went and took money from the oppressors for their rights. Politics Politics
“On the whole, it was a very bad day. There was a tremendous rigging and a massive selling of votes at my polling station where I voted and it happened throughout in the state. That only proves that you don’t have to campaign anymore, just sit on your money until election day and purchase votes. The present government has weaponised poverty and that makes it so easy for them to purchase votes. So let’s make it clear.”
The incumbent Oyebanji of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was proclaimed winner of the exercise conducted Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The election umpire said the governor polled 319,224 votes to defeat other contenders. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Oluwole Oluyede polled 40,543 votes, while Bejide earned 12,872 votes in the exercise conducted in 16 local government areas of the South-West state.
But Bejide accused the ruling APC of inducing votes with money and threatening opposition.
“It was like a war zone,” the ADC candidate stated. “I think it was something that was just pushed into the computers.”
The exercise is over, but Bejide indicated he had “many options” going forward.
“One of them is to get the views of my party colleagues. We are presently compiling results from all the polling units. We will review the results and take the required action,” said the 66-year-old.
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