The governorship campaign of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in Ekiti State, Dare Bejide, has accused agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of collecting Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from residents in parts of the state ahead of the forthcoming election, alleging an attempt to manipulate the electoral process.
Speaking at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti on Monday, the Director of Communications, Media and Publicity for the Dare Bejide Campaign Organisation, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, claimed that APC operatives were moving across several local government areas, offering cash, food items and welfare support in exchange for voters’ PVCs and National Identification Numbers (NINs).
According to Aribisogan, the practice amounted to voter inducement and could be used to disenfranchise citizens. He alleged that the cards were being collected for “sinister purposes”, warning residents not to surrender either their PVCs or NINs to political actors.
“Across several local government areas in Ekiti, our party has documented a pattern where agents and foot soldiers of the APC are moving from house to house and polling units demanding the collection of PVCs and National Identification Numbers from voters,” he said.
“They promise cash, food items or welfare support in exchange. This is a direct violation of Section 121 of the Electoral Act 2022, which prohibits voter inducement and the seizure of voter cards.”
Aribisogan further alleged that political thugs were being outfitted in counterfeit uniforms of the Amotekun Security Network and trained to intimidate voters, snatch ballot boxes and attack polling agents on election day. He described the alleged impersonation as a deliberate effort to undermine public confidence in the regional security outfit.
The ADC spokesperson called on the Ekiti Amotekun Corps Commander, Brig Gen Olu Adewa (retd), and the police to identify and arrest anyone found wearing an Amotekun uniform without authorisation. He also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a public warning against the harvesting of PVCs and NINs and to deploy monitoring teams to potential flashpoints across the state.
“We use this medium to tell Ekiti people not to be intimidated. Do not surrender your PVC or NIN. Do not be cowed by thugs in borrowed uniforms. Your vote is your right, and it is your power,” he said.
The APC, however, rejected the allegations, describing them as baseless and reflective of a lack of understanding of both electoral procedures and the role of Amotekun.
In a telephone interview, the party’s state Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, argued that advances in electoral technology had made it impossible to use another person’s PVC for voting, questioning why the APC would seek to collect voters’ cards.
“The ADC have run out of what to say, and they are only displaying their ignorance. Nobody is mopping up PVCs,” Dipe said.
“We will pardon their ignorance if they think that you can collect anybody’s PVC. Why can’t they collect another person’s PVC and see how useful or useless it is?”
He also dismissed claims that the party was recruiting individuals to pose as Amotekun operatives, noting that the security outfit was established under an APC-led administration.
“Amotekun is the project of the APC government. It is not the project of any other person. So why would we get fake Amotekun when we can recruit as many people into Amotekun?” he said.
Dipe added that the primary responsibility of Amotekun was combating kidnapping and other security threats, describing the opposition’s claims as another demonstration of its misunderstanding of the outfit’s functions.
The exchange underscores the increasingly heated atmosphere surrounding the Ekiti governorship race, with both parties trading accusations as campaigning intensifies ahead of polling day.
