ADC Candidate Rejects Ekiti Governorship Election Result
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in Saturday's Ekiti State governorship election, Dare Bejide, has rejected the outcome, describing the exercise as lacking credibility. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chief Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Adenike Oladiji, declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji the winner in the early hours of Sunday. Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Wole Oluyede, came second with 40,543 votes. Bejide finished third with 12,872 votes in an election contested by 14 political parties.
Allegations of Vote-Buying and Thuggery
In his immediate reaction, Bejide said the election was not credible, citing widespread vote-buying and thuggery. “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.” He alleged that political appointees and a serving senator brought in thugs and fake policemen. “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. If they had performed well, there would have been no need to rely on money to influence voters.”
Security Forces Failed to Act
Bejide criticized security personnel for failing to address the malpractices. “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,” he said. He confirmed that Governor Oyebanji called him to request a visit, but Bejide declined due to being busy. “Yes, Governor Biodun Oyebanji called me today. He said he wanted to visit. I told him I was occupied at the time and asked if we could speak later. He said he would call back. He is my brother and not a stranger to me. In fact, he began his political journey from this house in 1996. So whenever he comes, I will listen to what he has to say,” Bejide added.
Party to Decide Next Steps
Regarding his next line of action, Bejide said the ADC would meet to decide. “As for our next line of action, I have not personally seen the full results yet; I have only heard reports on social media. We are currently collating the results available to us. Once we have received and analysed all the polling unit results, we will brief our party members and decide on the appropriate course of action. At this stage, we are certainly not satisfied with the conduct of the election.” He noted that party agents collected copies of results at the state collation centre, but they are still gathering polling unit results. “From the few we have reviewed, we have observed cases of over-voting, alterations and other irregularities. Many disturbing things occurred during the process. When our analysis is completed, we will determine the next steps,” he said.
Appeal for Calm
Bejide urged supporters to remain calm, stating that the electoral issues are not over. “My message to our supporters is simple: remain calm because it is not over yet. The announced result does not, in our view, reflect what actually transpired. We worked extremely hard during this campaign. We travelled across the state, visited artisans, market women, pensioners and communities. Everywhere we went, people expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the government and indicated their support for our cause.” He noted the lack of jubilation across the state, saying, “The mood across the state is one of sadness because many people feel something has gone terribly wrong.”
Defending ADC's Campaign
Bejide defended the ADC's campaign efforts, arguing that the widespread vote-buying indicated the ruling party's lack of confidence. “Some people said before the election that the ADC had no structure and no pathway to victory. My response is simple: if we were not a force to reckon with, why was there such widespread vote-buying? If they were confident in their popularity and achievements, they should have allowed democracy to take its natural course and defeated us at the ballot box.” He appealed for peace and patience, saying, “My appeal to the people of Ekiti and our supporters is to remain peaceful and calm. We are carefully studying the results. Once that process is completed, we will know the appropriate steps to take. For now, I urge everyone to be patient and law-abiding.”
