... laments cases of vote-buying The official results of the 2026 Ekiti State Governorship Election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accurately reflected votes cast at polling units across the state, election observer group Yiaga Africa has said. The INEC Chief Returning Officer and Vic…

…Congress (APC), Biodun Oyebanji, the winner of the election, Bejide alleged widespread vote-buying, intimidation, and electoral irregularities, which he said undermined the integrity of the process. The ADC candidate said he was rejecting the results "in their entirety", arguing that what transpired across parts of the…

Election observer group says the poll was largely peaceful but identified procedural lapses and allegations of voter inducement that could undermine confidence in the process.

…total votes cast to 382,109. The election was largely peaceful, though reports of vote-buying allegations, voter suppression concerns and technical glitches involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were recorded in some areas. Oyebanji, who first assumed office in 2022, will now continue for a second ter…

Allegations of vote-buying, voter intimidation and other electoral malpractices trailed Saturday's governorship election in Ekiti State, despite reports by election observers that the exercise was generally peaceful across the state. The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dare Bejide, alleged that vote…

…infrastructure, weak party institutionalisation, limited access to reliable information, vote-buying, ethnic and religious mobilisation, and constrained electoral options. In many cases, citizens are choosing among candidates who offer broadly similar agendas and belong to the same political elite networks. Therefore,…

…40,543 votes, while Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who alleged vote-buying and manipulation in the early hours of the poll, secured 12,872 votes. 2022 vs 2026: Oyebanji's 84.95% of total valid votes Unlike 2022, when the incumbent governor secured 15 out of 16 local governments and emerged victor…

…participating opposition parties. According to election observers, there were organised vote-buying operations across all the polling units despite the presence of security operatives, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. DAILY POST gathered that vote-buying incidents were recorded across multi…

A leading independent monitoring group, Yiaga Africa, has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) achieved a “marked and significant improvement” in election logistics for the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election. Samson Itodo, Executive Director of the civil society organisation, noted a drama…

…allegations that members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were involved in vote-buying during the governorship election in Ekiti State. Adaramodu described the allegation as false and mischievous, claiming it was being propagated by members of the opposition. The senator, […]

They urged INEC to ensure strict compliance with its guidelines on result management, including the prompt uploading of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, while also replacing malfunctioning BVAS machines where necessary.

Ambassador Dare Bejide, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Saturday raised concerns over an incident that

…the Ekiti governorship Election. The hub, however, expressed concern over incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation and ballot-paper irregularities. The hub, comprising the Kukah Centre, TAF Africa, Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre (IPC) and the Centre for Media and Society…

…Saturday accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of being blinded to vote-buying and electoral malpractices during elections. Reacting to alleged vote-buying in Ekiti State, Yesufu said it should be decriminalised in Nigeria. Posting on X, the activist noted that law-abiding Nigerians are at the rec…

…were said to have stormed the polling unit to monitor and crack down on suspected vote-buying activities. The voters were reportedly angered and resisted their presence and questioned their deployment, demanding their immediate departure. The voters were said to have chased off the anti-graft operatives, forcing them t…

"I have gotten reports in all of the 177 polling units. I can assure you that the election, so far, is going very well, very peaceful, transparent and, of course, the people are working together with the relevant security agencies," Mr Sani said.

…Bejide called on electoral authorities and security agencies to ensure that incidents of vote-buying and voter intimidation are properly investigated, stressing that the credibility of the election depends on the ability of relevant institutions to enforce the law without fear or favour.

…and demanded that they leave the area, insisting that there was no evidence of vote-buying at the polling centre. Following the confrontation, the EFCC officials withdrew from the polling unit, while the electoral process continued peacefully and without any disruption. View this post on Instagram

…also raised concerns over what they described as "well-organised voter inducement and vote-buying schemes," revealing that 24 separate cases of vote-buying and voter intimidation were documented across nine local government areas. According to the report, some of the incidents were allegedly aimed at compromising the s…

…local government officials, gathered at the polling unit with large sums of money for vote-buying purposes. He further claimed that his driver sustained injuries during an altercation at the polling unit while trying to shield him from being pushed. According to Bejide, the injured driver was subsequently taken to a ho…

Allegations of vote-buying on Saturday surfaced in the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election. Several voters reportedly received cash inducements from political party agents in exchange for their votes. According to findings from Aramoko Ekiti, headquarters of Ekiti West Local Government Area, some voters admitted…

Mr Bejide accused an unidentified woman of buying votes near his polling unit in Ilawe-Ekiti.

"This doesn't reflect what a good democratic process should be. I hereby condemn this process and conclude no election in Ekiti State," Mr Falegan said.

"Electoral offences attract sanctions. Vote buying, vote selling, ballot box snatching, violence and intimidation, destruction of electoral materials and disorderly conduct at polling units."