Ekiti Guber: SDP Alleges Vote Buying Undermined Poll Credibility

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has criticised the conduct of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election, alleging that widespread vote buying undermined the credibility of the process.

The party said although the election had been concluded and a winner declared, questions remained over the integrity of the events leading to the declaration of the result.

The National Publicity Secretary of the SDP, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, in a statement, acknowledged improvements in election logistics but said the alleged prevalence of vote trading had negatively affected the credibility of the exercise.

“The Ekiti State governorship election 2026 has been won and lost, but the credibility of the entire process leading to the declaration of a winner remains debatable,” Aiyenigba said.

He added that while there was “a remarkable improvement in logistics movement,” the situation was overshadowed by alleged voter inducement.

“It must be emphasised that the rampant vote-buying that characterised the election was a dent on the integrity of the election,” he said.

The SDP spokesperson also faulted the exclusion of the party’s agents from the electoral process, alleging that the failure to upload the names of its agents affected the party’s participation.

“The SDP also insists on its position that the deliberate shutting out of the SDP, by way of not allowing for the uploading of the names of our party agents for the election, rendered the election a nullity,” he stated.

Aiyenigba called on Nigerians to demand reforms that would strengthen confidence in the electoral system, warning against practices capable of undermining democracy.

“We call on Nigerian citizens to rise up and resist the deliberate breach of the faith and trust of the people in our electoral processes and outcomes, usually occasioned by the unholy pact of administrators of our elections with anti-democratic agents,” he said.

He added: “Nigeria cannot survive the shenanigans that we are currently witnessing in our democratic journey.”

The SDP spokesman urged stakeholders to work towards improving electoral standards, stressing that elections must be free from practices that compromise voters’ choices.

“Our elections must be cleaner, and our democracy purged of corrupt practices that are inimical to national transformation,” he said.