The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in the just-concluded Ondo State governorship election, Myson Nejo, has criticized the conduct of the poll, alleging widespread vote trading.
Nejo, who spoke in a telephone interview with Punch on Sunday, attributed his loss in the election to his refusal to engage in vote buying.
The election results, announced by the State Returning Officer, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi, at the State Collation Centre in Akure, showed the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, securing a decisive victory with 366,781 votes.
Aiyedatiwa defeated his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 117,845 votes, and Nejo, who finished far behind.
Governor Aiyedatiwa won all 18 local government areas in the state and was subsequently declared re-elected by INEC.
He said, “The reaction of the people? I thank the good people of Ondo State for voting for me without giving them any money, and they still voted for me. I want to believe that my vote is valid because there was nothing like vote-buying or any unethical practices on my side. So far, I want to believe I’m a winner in this election.”
On the issue of vote buying during the election, Nejo specifically confirmed that the votes were being bought for as much as N20,000, describing the development as worrisome.
Nejo further stated, “People were buying votes for N20,000 or N15,000, and in my polling unit, it was N10,000 to N15,000.
“Because I didn’t have money and I told them I wasn’t going to give even a kobo to buy votes, I ended up with only two votes in my unit and about 40 votes in total, but I don’t care. People were calling me, asking for money in exchange for their votes, but I stood my ground. If they want to vote, they should vote. I wasn’t going to give a kobo to buy votes.”