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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate, Dare Bejide, has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s Ekiti State election, describing the exercise as lacking credibility and alleging widespread vote-buying and thuggery.
Bejide spoke to journalists on Sunday after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner with 319,224 votes.
Bejide finished third with 12,872 votes, while Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Wole Oluyede polled 40,543 votes.
Reacting to the result, he alleged that political appointees and a serving senator brought thugs and both fake and genuine policemen to polling units.
“My immediate reaction is to reject the result in its entirety because, in my view, the exercise conducted yesterday was not credible. You all witnessed what happened, particularly in some polling units, including mine, where the atmosphere was almost like a war zone,” Bajide said.
“Political appointees, alongside a serving senator, allegedly brought in thugs as well as both fake and genuine policemen. In some places, it appeared as though the election was taking place only in my polling unit. It is a sad day for democracy.
“Vote-buying was carried out openly. Bags of money were brought to polling units, and from what we observed, enormous sums were spent. To me, this reflects a failure by the government. If they had performed well, there would have been no need to rely on money to influence voters. They should have depended on their achievements to win the election rather than openly buying votes.”
He also expressed concern that security personnel took no meaningful action despite complaints.
“That is quite unfortunate and raises serious concerns about the state of our democracy,” he added.
Bejide said his party would analyse results from polling units before deciding on the next course of action.
“We have observed cases of over-voting, alterations and other irregularities,” he said.
Bejide also disclosed that Oyebanji called him on Sunday to request a visit, but he said he was occupied at the time.
“Yes, Governor Biodun Oyebanji called me today. He said he wanted to visit. I told him I was occupied at the time and asked if we could speak later. He said he would call back. He is my brother and not a stranger to me. In fact, he began his political journey from this house in 1996. So whenever he comes, I will listen to what he has to say,” he said.
The ADC candidate urged his supporters to remain calm, saying the electoral issues were not over.
“My message to our supporters is simple: remain calm because it is not over yet. The announced result does not, in our view, reflect what actually transpired. We worked extremely hard during this campaign. We travelled across the state, visited artisans, market women, pensioners and communities. Everywhere we went, people expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the government and indicated their support for our cause. That is why we believe the outcome announced does not reflect the reality on the ground. You can see that there is no jubilation anywhere. The mood across the state is one of sadness because many people feel something has gone terribly wrong,” Bejide said.
“Some people said before the election that the ADC had no structure and no pathway to victory. My response is simple: if we were not a force to reckon with, why was there such widespread vote-buying? If they were confident in their popularity and achievements, they should have allowed democracy to take its natural course and defeated us at the ballot box.
“We campaigned vigorously. We went from house to house and met artisans, barbers, traders, market women, and church congregations. We presented our vision and offered what we believed was a better alternative for Ekiti State. While we were engaging directly with the people, others appeared confident that the resources they had amassed would be enough to influence the outcome on election day.
“Sadly, money meant for roads, water, infrastructure and development was allegedly deployed to buy votes and compromise the conscience of the people. My appeal to the people of Ekiti and our supporters is to remain peaceful and calm. We are carefully studying the results. Once that process is completed, we will know the appropriate steps to take. For now, I urge everyone to be patient and law-abiding.”
