Osun poll: APC, Accord wage N20,000-per-vote war

Ahead of the Osun State governorship election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Accord Party stand accused of engaging in extensive vote-buying. Reports indicate that agents from both parties have been offering voters between N10,000 and N20,000, a practice that reportedly began six days prior to the election, deviating from previous patterns.

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I collected my N20,000 at the Bonnke area of Ilesa on Wednesday. The cash was in N1,000 and N500 denominations. We had over 200 voters and it was done unit by unit. I collected mine around 11am at the bungalow belonging to one of the APC chieftains in our unit.

Beyond cash, voters have also received food items and other gifts. Some accounts suggest that parties collected voters' account numbers a week before the election, with plans to transfer funds after voting. In several instances, the inducement has been intertwined with spiritual coercion, as beneficiaries were allegedly forced to swear oaths to vote for the sponsoring party's candidate.

Viral videos have emerged showing supporters of both Accord Party's Governor Ademola Adeleke and APC's Bola Oyebamiji openly distributing cash and items like rice. These distributions were reportedly accompanied by demands for loyalty at the polls. Voters in Ilesa reported that the APC was disbursing N20,000 per voter in specific areas, distributed at the homes of party chieftains. Beneficiaries described receiving cash in smaller denominations and participating in unit-by-unit distributions.

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At the Coca-Cola area, people were given N20,000 each at one particular storey building. But you have to show your voter card before being paid.

A human rights activist in Ilesa corroborated these claims, noting that voters had to present their voter cards to receive payments. Reports from areas like Iroye and Imo also mentioned the APC distributing rice and money, with beneficiaries allegedly being cursed if they failed to vote for the party's candidate. The scale of these alleged operations suggests a significant pre-election inducement campaign by the major parties.

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They are APC supporters. They provided money and rice, but I don’t know the exact amount they were distributing. They were cursing the beneficiaries, saying it would not be well with them if they failed to vote for AMBO after collecting the money.