Tension briefly flared at a polling unit in Ilawe Ekiti on Saturday after supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused each other of attempting to influence voters with cash during the governorship election.
The incident occurred at Unit 4, Ward 2, shortly after ADC governorship candidate Dare Bejide cast his vote. The candidate alleged that individuals arrived at the area with money intended for distribution to voters but were confronted before the plan could be carried out.
According to him, the situation escalated when an APC chieftain allegedly arrived near the polling centre in a Toyota Jeep with a substantial amount of cash, triggering a confrontation between supporters of both parties.
The disagreement later turned into a scuffle, during which an ADC supporter sustained a head injury. The victim was subsequently taken to a medical facility for treatment.
Speaking on the incident, Bejide said:
“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. And in a bid to defend themselves, they kept on 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.
“You can see one of my aides was beaten by the security men they brought. The boy had been rushed to the hospital now.”
Despite the disturbance, the ADC candidate praised the conduct of election officials, noting that the voting process remained largely orderly.
“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,” he said.
