There is palpable tension in Ikere-Ekiti, the hometown of Mrs Monisade, the Deputy Governor of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) and that of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Wole Oluyede.
Accreditation and voting have begun in different parts of Ikere-Ekiti in the governorship election.
In Osolo hall, unit EC 30 C, and Ibariba hall, unit 008 in Ikere-Ekiti, voters were in line to cast their votes.
However, at Ward Three unit 06, where the candidate of the PDP would vote, an octogenarian, Matthew Aluko, alleged that the voting process was extremely slow.
The 81-year-old man said he was asked to leave the venue but insisted that he would wait until he got to his turn.
Similarly, Oluyede alleged voter intimidation and expressed concerns over delays in the accreditation and voting process at his polling unit at Osaguru Hall, unit 6, ward 3, Ikere-Ekiti.
Speaking with journalists after casting his vote, Oluyede described the pace of voting as unacceptable, claiming that only a handful of voters had been processed more than an hour after polling commenced.
Oluyede accused security operatives deployed to the area of intimidating voters, claiming some of them were operating in unofficial vehicles. He said he had documented the alleged incidents and would make the evidence available at an appropriate time.
His words, “I feel very unfortunate that all I can get here is a handful of cameras, whereas down the road, where the Deputy Governor votes, there is an army of policemen harassing people.
“You should go there and see the army of policemen that are harassing people. They are using false vehicles. I taped them; I have evidence of that, and I will show you when it is appropriate. This is nonsense.
“The process is actually useless. People have been here for about one and a half hours, and only five people have voted in my polling unit. That’s what they do all the time, so I suspect that there is something wrong with the INEC process.
“They have called the RATech for the last 45 minutes, and he hasn’t been here. You cannot disenfranchise these people. It is sad for democracy in Nigeria”.
