Oyetola wins LG; Adeleke clears Ede; Omisore ahead in Ife
Parties adopt new strategies to buy votes, beat INEC
Declare fake results, go to jail, INEC warns politicians
Reports of the votes announced at the polling units by the Independent National Electoral Commission showed that the All Progressives Congress candidate, Gboyega Oyetola whose party maintained stronghold in Osogbo was ahead of others in the state capital.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ademola Adeleke also cleared the results of votes cast in most polling units in Ede zone while a former deputy governor of the state, who is the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Iyiola Omisore, was comfortably led others in Ife town and its environs.
As of 2.30am, the results announced at the local government collation centres and declared by the INEC returning officers at the various councils are as follows:
Ede South: APC 4,512 PDP 16,693; Boripe: APC 11,655 PDP 6,892; Orolu: APC 5,442 PDP 7,776; Ilesha West: APC 7,251 PDP 8,286; Atakumosa East: APC 7,073 PDP 5,218; Ila: APC 8,403 PDP 8,241; Irepodun: APC 6,517 PDP 8,052; Ifelodun: APC 9,882, PDP 12,269.
These results were yet to be announced by INEC at the state collation centre in Osogbo as of the time of filing this report.
Despite the warning by the Independent National Electoral Commission that vote peddlers and buyers would be severely dealt with, the Osun State governorship election which was held on Saturday had in attendance shades of vote buying and selling executed by political parties in complex form.
There were evidences of online payment to the electorate to curry their favour. In one of such cases, a voter received N5,000 in his account at 7.51pm on Thursday, September 20, 2018. He posted his balance on Twitter.
There was also an allegation that INEC distributed photocopies of result sheets to polling units while holding on to the original, although the commission denied such practice while calling on anyone with genuine information to approach the commission with complaints.
A few ballot box snatchers were arrested by security operatives. Observers who monitored the election however frowned on the slow response of the security operatives, arguing that with more than 40,000 security operatives deployed to the state for the election, no one should have had a chance to snatch ballot boxes, describing it as a disturbing trend.
One of the observers, Mrs. Kemi Adesina, said although the conduct of the election was generally peaceful, INEC and security forces must devise better ways of dealing with vote buying and other ills noticed during the election.
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In Irewole council area, Ward Unit 6, a vote buyer was arrested by officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps with naira notes, while several voters almost beat up INEC staff in some of the 12 units located at Oramiyan Tower Complex, Lagere, Ile-Ife when the card readers failed to capture their data as voting processes began in the morning.
At Ward 001, St Gabriel Primary School, Moore, Ile-Ife, a voter in unit 03, Elutipe Yinka, could not vote because the card reader failed to recognise his card despite having seen his name on the registration card.
He said he was asked to wait for a superior INEC official to clear him but he waited until voting processes was completed.
At the ward, a crisis almost arose when some youths cased a group of people they accused to be vote buyers. They claimed that members of the group belonging to a political party were inviting voters from the queue to a building at the back of the school, where they were remunerated to vote for their party.
