Tension briefly disrupted activities at Unit 4, Ward 2, Ilawe Ekiti on Saturday during the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election following a confrontation between supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over allegations of vote buying.
The incident reportedly escalated into a physical altercation, resulting in injuries to one ADC supporter who was later taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
The governorship candidate of the ADC, Dare Bejide, who cast his vote at the polling unit, alleged that certain individuals attempted to distribute money to voters before being confronted.
According to Bejide, the situation intensified after persons allegedly arrived at the location carrying cash intended for distribution among voters.
He further claimed that a prominent APC chieftain drove into the area in a Toyota Jeep allegedly carrying a large amount of money intended for voters.
Bejide alleged that the development triggered exchanges between supporters of both political parties which later resulted in the disturbance.
“Now you have the sound, the audio, one of them brought money here, they brought it in a sack but we intercepted her, she called the council chairman, and the council chairman came here also,” he alleged.
“And in a bid to defend themselves, they kept saying that some ADC members were also distributing money. But they couldn’t mention anybody. But we know where the money was kept.
“And in a bid to retrieve the money, she called the council chairman, and that caused a lot of commotion here,” he added.
According to eyewitness accounts, the confrontation became physical and one individual sustained injuries during the incident.
Bejide claimed the injured person was one of his aides and alleged that security personnel attached to his political opponents were responsible for the assault.
“You can see one of my aides was beaten by the security men they brought. The boy had been rushed to the hospital now,” he said.
Despite the incident, the ADC candidate commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for what he described as orderly conduct and professionalism during the election.
He noted that voting and accreditation processes continued smoothly and praised electoral officials for their performance.
“The electoral personnel have been very diligent, and everything is going on very well. You realise that when you came here a few minutes ago, there was pandemonium here, but the moment they saw you with your camera, they ran away,” Bejide stated.
Voting later continued at the polling unit after calm was restored, while security operatives maintained their presence to prevent further disturbances.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official response from the APC regarding the allegations.
