Ekiti Gov Election: Rights Groups React To Vote Buying

By Ayodele Oni

Nigerian Human Rights Community, (NHRC) and the Civil Society Coalition for Mandate Protection, (CSC-MAP) that witnessed the June 18 Governorship election in Ekiti state have noted that incident of vote buying did not start on that day.

The groups pointed out that “On vote buying, the Nigerian Human Rights Community, (NHRC) said it received information of vote buying by some of the participants which appears not restricted to a particular political party.

“The groups said why there have been outcries; this immoral attribute is not new. It noted that prior the Ekiti elections, the same cash-for-vote was associated with the two mainstream political parties during their primary.

“In Ekiti State, it is also not a new phenomenon. For instance, vote buying was once institutionalized in Ekiti State under a former State Governor when bank accounts of voters were collected and credited with state funds before the election.

“That some voters took money to vote for their candidates should be seen within the broad context of the moral decline of individuals and the state across Nigeria which reflects the dramatic change in human orientation and sociology of Nigerians.

“It reflects the weak institutions that manage the country and the almost impotent is the mechanism for the enforcement of law and order.”

In the report signed by Messrs Fred Ojinika and Samuel Omotoyinbo, the groups noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) and security agents performed well during the Ekiti poll.

“The election materials arrived early enough in almost all the 2,445 polling units across the 16 Local Governments and 19 Local Council Development Areas, (LCDAs).

“In all the 2,445 polling booths, there were reports of non availability of ink in only three of them, as observed by NHRC, which the INEC officials and ad hoc staff improvised by using ink from pen.

“This did not in any way affect the ability of voters to choose their candidates on the ballots.

“In previous elections, the NHRC and the CSC-MAP said Ekiti had dominated national discourse for the wrong reason adding that since 2007, elections in Ekiti have been characterized by violence.

“In 2007, some people were either killed or maimed. In 2014, the then incumbent State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi was nearly killed when a civilian not too far from him was shot by a police officer sent from Abuja by the then Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) controlled Federal Government.

“In 2019, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi also of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) was shot and wounded.”

“The group said the 2022 June 18 election was a complete departure from the ugly past.

“There was no single incidence of violence and bloodletting, abduction, ballot snatching or killing on the day of the election.

“There was however the murder of a citizen few days before the election, an act allegedly traced to the Civil Defense Official protecting a chieftain of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP).

“The group said the Ekiti State Government also did not deploy Amotekun to be involved in the electoral process which remains a significant step by keeping the state security outfit from the platform of internal politics.

“Generally, the atmosphere before, during and after the election was peaceful. The security officials, the Police, Soldiers and Civil Defense were less visible on the election day.

“While few of the soldiers mounted the highways, the armed police men kept a distant, polite watch on the polling units.

“There were no reports of violent human rights violations by state or non state actors unlike in the previous years.”

The group commended the stakeholders the Ekiti State Government, INEC and other party leaders for their conducts during the election saying that there were no acts of aggression, intimidation or terror associated with the State Government or any of its officials.

“This is commendable. The June 18 election was the most peaceful election in Ekiti recent memory.”