The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dare Bejide, has rejected the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election, describing the exercise as lacking credibility and alleging widespread vote buying and intimidation.
Speaking in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, Bejide said the election was conducted in what he described as “an atmosphere replica of a war zone,” insisting that the process fell short of democratic standards.
“My immediate reaction is to reject the result in its entirety because the exercise was not credible,” he said.
The ADC candidate accused the ruling party of influencing voters through the distribution of money and food, arguing that the government should have relied on its performance rather than inducements.
According to him, some polling units witnessed tension and intimidation during the election.
“You all witnessed what happened. Some places were almost like a war zone,” Bejide said.
He further alleged that political appointees and a serving senator deployed thugs and security personnel to influence the outcome of the poll.
“In some places, it appeared the election was taking place only in my polling unit. It is a sad day for democracy,” he stated.
Bejide also claimed that vote buying was openly carried out across several polling units.
“Bags of money were brought to polling units, and enormous sums were spent,” he alleged.
The ADC candidate argued that such actions reflected poorly on the government’s record.
“If they had performed well, there would have been no need to rely on money,” he said.
Despite rejecting the outcome, Bejide said he was still studying the election results and consulting with party officials before deciding on the next course of action.
“I have not personally seen the full results; I have only heard reports on social media,” he said.
He disclosed that his team was collating results from polling units across the state.
“Once we receive and analyse everything, we will brief our party members,” Bejide stated.
He added that the party would determine the appropriate steps to take after reviewing the available evidence.
“At this stage, we are certainly not satisfied with the conduct of the election,” he said.
Bejide, however, appealed to his supporters and residents of Ekiti State to remain calm and peaceful while the party reviews the outcome of the election.
“We are carefully studying the results and will know the appropriate steps to take,” he added.
