Damola Ojo, a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was detained in Ado-Ekiti by agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after allegations of vote-buying that followed the Ekiti State governorship election.
After receiving a tip, Ojo was quickly taken to a polling place at Ola Oluwa Muslim Secondary School in Ado Ekiti.
Ojo, whom Babajide Adebayo, the PDP representative at the voting place, identified as an engineer, was found in possession of a substantial quantity of cash.
Checks by the Sunday Tribune, however, showed that voter enticement existed across party lines prior to the EFCC agents’ arrival.
Journalists were informed by Adebayo, who verified Ojo’s detention, that he had subsequently notified PDP chieftains for their involvement. He refuted the claim that Ojo was offering voters money.
“When the EFCC people arrived, someone pointed at Ojo, who was standing by himself,” the man stated. He was taken into custody and taken away despite the fact that he was alone, not interacting with anyone, and not providing money to anyone. Ojo is an engineer who arrived in Ekiti to work, but I have called our leaders to inform them about the arrest.
Party members continued to surreptitiously approach voters throughout the state in close proximity to polling places where agents suspected of corruption were spotted.
Opeyemi Bamidele, a senator from Ekiti Central, praised the INEC for meeting public expectations and noted that the election process had been calm.
“The process has been smooth and up to public expectations thus far,” he stated. Let me quickly clarify, though, that one cannot draw conclusions about what a state-wide procedure would entail from a single point of view. Therefore, everything I say is based on the information I acquired both before I left my house and when I got to the polling place. Thus, if the reports I gathered between 8.30am and 1pm, along with the events I personally experienced at my polling place, are any indication, we can conclude that thus far, things have been quiet.
“However, as you are aware, elections are a process, and in the end, everything will be taken into consideration to assess the process’s overall integrity. That being said, I want to commend INEC as an institution and say that thus far, so good. This is Ekiti. We are all familiar with the political climate and terrain in Ekiti State during elections.
“I am pleased and personally impressed by the tremendously large turnout that we had today. Thus far, the procedure has been quiet. I am confident that the people’s choice will come to light in the end.
