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•Days to guber poll, allegations of vote-buying, PVC inducements intensify
From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
A week to the Osun State governorship election, major political parties contesting the Saturday August 15 election are under intense pressure, with allegations that they have allegedly devised sophisticated strategies to woo voters, with claims of vote-buying taking centre stage.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Accord and African Democratic Congress (ADC) have emerged as the front-runners in the high-stakes contest. Campaign activities across the state have largely focused on outreach to diverse civic organisations, religious groups, and trade unions, often accompanied by cash donations.
As the election gets closer, recent findings suggest that tactics have escalated, with the Accord and the APC allegedly offering financial inducements in exchange for Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
A voter told Sunday Sun that representatives of the Accord recorded her PVC number, National Identification Number (NIN), and bank account details, though she confirmed she had yet to receive any funds.
Controversy has also flared around Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, who recently distributed financial support to boost petty trading under the Renewed Hope Initiative. The funds were disbursed through Alhaja Sekinat Oyebamiji, wife of the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson for Governor Ademola Adeleke, accused the APC candidate’s wife of acting as a conduit for vote-buying. Rasheed dismissed counter-allegations levelled against the ruling party as “fake news,” maintaining that the administration has never engaged in illicit financial inducements.
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“The APC is spreading fake news regarding vote-buying,” Rasheed stated. “In the last three months, the APC has been sharing cash across all local government areas, whereas the ruling party has not been doing that. The APC has been going around collecting PVCs and offering ₦20,000, ₦50,000, and ₦100,000. Is the ₦150 million shared by the wife of the APC candidate in Iwo not vote-buying?”
Addressing criticism over recent state government disbursements to workers and youth corps members, Rasheed clarified that the financial aid was a pre-negotiated palliative package meant to cushion economic hardships. “Three months ago, labour unions approached the governor requesting a ₦30,000 palliative. After negotiations, we agreed on ₦10,000 and ₦12,000,” he explained. “When the funds became available, they were disbursed. How can assistance negotiated months ago be classified as vote-buying? Given current economic realities, this is not the first time the governor has provided financial assistance to support workers, a practice we began in 2024.”
In a swift rebuttal, Kola Olabisi, the APC Director of Media and Information, dismissed the allegations against Oyebamiji’s wife as “diversionary, fabricated, and completely unfounded.
“The wife of our candidate does not need to share money because her husband has what it takes to win the election,” Olabisi said. “He is a contending candidate, not a pretender. Meanwhile, the ruling party is guilty of the very acts it attributes to us.”
Olabisi further criticised the timing of the state government’s disbursements to civil servants, characterising it as disguised patronage. “With no festive season on-going and an election right around the corner, everyone knows that the money being shared is gratification for civil servants to curry favour,” he added. “That is vote-buying in disguise, and the appropriate authorities should not take it lightly.”
Weighing in on the escalating allegations, human rights lawyer and activist, Alfred Adegoke lamented that vote-buying had become institutionalised in Nigerian elections due to widespread poverty induced by harsh economic conditions.
“With astronomical food prices, surging fuel costs, and expensive education, citizens have been heavily pauperised by successive governments.
“Consequently, people feel compelled to sell their votes just to put food on the table, turning a serious crime into a dangerous societal norm,” Adegoke posited.
