Tension flared on Saturday in Ilawe-Ekiti after supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) clashed over allegations of vote buying during the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election.
The incident occurred at Polling Unit 4, Ward 2, where the ADC governorship candidate, Dare Bejide, cast his vote earlier in the day.
The confrontation briefly disrupted voting activities and left one ADC supporter with a head injury. The victim was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
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According to him, an undisclosed amount of money intended for voter inducement was brought into the area but was stopped before distribution could take place.
He also accused a prominent APC chieftain of arriving near the polling centre in a Toyota Jeep carrying cash allegedly meant for distribution to voters.
“Now you have the sound, the audio, one of them brought money here, they brought it in a sack but we intercepted her,” Bejide alleged.
He claimed that efforts to retrieve the money sparked heated arguments that later escalated into violence.
“In a bid to retrieve the money, she called the council chairman, and that caused a lot of commotion here. One of my aides was beaten and rushed to the hospital,” he said.
The APC had yet to respond to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
The incident comes amid heightened concerns over vote buying and electoral misconduct ahead of the governorship election.
Despite the unrest, Bejide praised INEC officials at the polling unit, saying they had conducted themselves professionally.
“The electoral personnel have been very diligent, and everything was going on very well before the pandemonium started,” he said.
Security personnel later strengthened their presence around the polling unit as voting resumed under close monitoring.
The election is being closely watched across the state as voters decide who will succeed the current administration amid intense political competition among major parties.
