Ekiti election not credible, says ADC candidate Dare Bejide, rejects result

Dare Bejide, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for Ekiti State governor, has rejected the election results, declaring the exercise lacked credibility. Governor Biodun Oyebanji was declared the winner by the INEC Chief Returning Officer early Sunday, securing 319,224 votes. Bejide finished third with 12,872 votes in the election contested by 14 parties.

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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.

Bejide described the election atmosphere as chaotic, likening it to a war zone, particularly in his polling unit. He alleged that political appointees and a serving senator brought in thugs and police officers, creating an environment where the election seemed to occur only in his specific polling unit. "It is a sad day for democracy," he stated.

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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.

The ADC candidate also pointed to widespread vote-buying, claiming bags of money were openly distributed at polling units. He criticized the government's performance, suggesting that a lack of achievement forced them to rely on influencing voters with money rather than their records. "We drew the attention of security personnel to what was happening, yet no meaningful action was taken. That is quite unfortunate and raises serious concerns about the state of our democracy," Bejide added.

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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.

While Bejide has not personally seen the full results, he indicated that the ADC party members would convene to analyze the available polling unit results. He noted observations of over-voting, alterations, and other irregularities in the results reviewed so far. The party will brief its members and determine the appropriate next steps after completing their analysis. Bejide confirmed receiving a call from the declared winner, Oyebanji, but was occupied at the time.

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We drew the attention of security personnel to what was happening, yet no meaningful action was taken. That is quite unfortunate and raises serious concerns about the state of our democracy.