Voters in Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State have accused suspected supporters of the All Progressives Congress of distributing cash to voters during Saturday’s governorship election.
The allegation was captured in a video recorded at Ward 4, Unit 7, where some voters were seen confronting individuals they accused of attempting to share money at the polling unit.
According to the voters, the incident occurred around 9:30 a.m., while a similar allegation was reported at Ward 4, Unit 13 at about 10:30 a.m.
One of the voters who spoke in the video alleged that those involved fled the polling area with some of the money in a polythene bag.
“We don’t know how much was there. They ran away and used a polythene bag to take the money away,” the voter said.
The voter also said the alleged distribution of cash was contrary to instructions issued to voters and political actors against monetary inducement at polling units.
“The rule given to us was that we should not give money to anyone. We did not cause any trouble; we were only running after them,” the voter said.
Some of the voters were also seen displaying cash they claimed to have retrieved from the alleged distributors, as well as a card they identified as belonging to the APC.
“This is the evidence. The card they used belongs to the APC, and their logo is on it,” another voter said.
The alleged incidents reportedly took place at a polling unit associated with Najeem Salaam, popularly known as Iwaloye, the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate.
However, the voters alleged that the individuals accused of distributing the money were APC-linked.
“We are talking about Iwaloye, the ADC candidate. At his unit, APC members are sharing money. It happened at about 9:30 a.m. in Unit 7 and 10:30 a.m. in Unit 13,” one of the voters alleged.
The allegations could not immediately be independently verified, while the APC had not responded to the claims as of the time of filing this report.