A suspected vote-buyer has been apprehended by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) during the ongoing Ondo governorship election.
The individual was apprehended with two bags of money believed to be intended for voter inducement, according to SaharaReporters.
The arrest occurred at Ward 4, Polling Unit 007, outside St. Stephen’s Primary School in Akure, Ondo State, around 9am on Saturday day.
It had earlier been reported that some of the political parties participating in the ongoing governorship election in Ondo State including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were caught engaging in vote buying.
SaharaReporters observed that the parties predominantly engage in the vote buying in Irele Local Government Area of the state.
It was observed at polling unit 007 (PU007), Ajagba Ward 2, Irele Local Government Area, some political party agents are handing out signed papers to voters as tickets to get paid after casting their votes.
Some voters said that the papers would be used to collect cash from the agents after the election, but they said that they didn’t know the exact amount they would be paid.
Earlier, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, participated in the ongoing election by casting his vote early in his polling unit.
The governor arrived at Igbo Ward 4, Obenla community, in Ilaje Local Government Area at 8:46 am, accompanied by his security aides.
He completed the voting process at 8:48 am.
This marks an important moment in the election as Aiyedatiwa seeks re-election under the APC platform.
Some voters had complained about malfunctioning of some Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
Speaking to SaharaReporters at Polling Unit 004, Apoi Ward 2, Kiribo, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of the state, a voter, Omotayo Akinlami, had said the malfunctioning BVAS was affecting the election in their polling unit.
He had said it would be better if INEC allowed them to adopt manual accreditation.
