Ekiti 2026: One injured as APC, ADC supporters clash over vote-buying allegations

One person was injured as supporters of the All Progressives Congress and African Democratic Congress clashed at Unit 4, Ward 2 in Ilawe Ekiti during the ongoing governorship election.

The supporters engaged in a heated argument over allegations of vote buying.

The candidate of the ADC,  Dare Bejide, who cast his vote at the unit, alleged that some politicians brought an undisclosed amount of money to be distributed at the polling unit but were prevented.

He also alleged that a chieftain of the APC entered the area in a Toyota Jeep, a few metres away from the polling unit, with a large sum of money and was preparing to share it. He said the development led to an argument and a fight.

It was observed that one of the ADC supporters sustained an injury to the head during the fracas and was quickly rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Bejide said: “Now you have the sound, the audio, one of them brought money here, they brought it in a sack but we intercepted her, she called the council chairman, and the council chairman came here also. And in a bid to defend themselves, they kept on saying that some ADC members were also distributing money. But they couldn’t mention anybody. But we know where the money was kept. And in a bid to retrieve the money, she called the council chairman, and that caused a lot of commotion here.

“You can see one of my aides was beaten by the security men they brought. The boy had been rushed to the hospital now.”

He, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the exercise.

“The electoral personnel have been very diligent, and everything is going on very well. You realise that when you came here a few minutes ago, there was pandemonium here, but the moment they saw you with your camera, they ran away,” he said.