The APC and Accord Party are being accused of running a vote-buying operation across Osun State ahead of the governorship election, with agents offering voters between N10,000 and N20,000.

Unlike previous elections, the payments reportedly started six days before the poll. Voters say the parties also collected the account numbers of thousands of people a week earlier, planning to credit them after they cast their ballots.

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord is facing challengers including Bola Oyebamiji of the APC, Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress and nine other candidates. Around 1.9 million registered voters were expected to take part.

Cash on the ground

Reports show both parties moving from town to town, distributing cash, food and even asking voters to swear oaths of loyalty.

In Ilesa, the APC was giving N20,000 per voter across several local government areas. One beneficiary said he collected his money at a chieftain’s house in Bonnke area, paid in N1,000 and N500 notes, with over 200 voters paid unit by unit. At another location, voters had to show their voter cards before being paid. Meanwhile, Accord was offering N10,000 at places like Olowu Village, where recipients were asked to swear an oath of allegiance.

In Osogbo, the APC distributed N15,000 to voters in all 15 wards, targeting 150 voters per unit. One chieftain claimed it was “not really for vote-buying; it was for feeding before election day.”

In Iwo, the APC reportedly budgeted N700,000 per polling unit across 170 units, paying N15,000 per voter.

In Ila, the amounts went up to N20,000 — this time from Accord, while the APC offered N15,000. One resident said he and his wife each collected N20,000 but declined to take the oath.

In Ede, Adeleke’s hometown, Accord had been paying N10,000 for two weeks before the APC jumped in with N15,000. “We waited to see how far they could go, and we decided to give them a run for their money,” one APC chieftain said.

Viral videos also showed supporters openly handing out cash, salt, rice and other items — sometimes while placing curses on anyone who collected the gifts but failed to vote for their candidate.

A pattern both parties deny

An APC chieftain in Ilesa West insisted his party was not buying votes, claiming the money was for voters to transport themselves to polling units. Many spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns.

An election that may not be credible

The Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, warned that the level of inducement could make the outcome questionable. He described the situation as “the weaponisation of poverty and the monetisation of politics.”

“When politics is determined by the highest bidder and the highest tender, what suffers is governance, transparency, integrity and accountability,” he said.

Violence too

Beyond vote-buying, at least eight people were reportedly killed in the week before the election in Ilesa and Esa-Oke, with the police linking some of the deaths to cult clashes. Soldiers with armoured personnel carriers were deployed at several boundary communities over rising tension.

Police warned that anyone caught vote-buying would be arrested and prosecuted, calling it an electoral offence that would not be tolerated.