Edo Gov’ship Poll Recorded Votes Buying, Says KDI Report

Executive Director of the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), Bukola Idowu (KDI) has raised concern about the widespread vote buying that characterised the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.

Idowu in the report of the organization said it observed vote buying across all three senatorial districts where voters were induced with monetary sum ranging from ₦1,000 to ₦10,000 as well as material incentives which it said undermined the credibility of the election.

The position of the KDI was contained in its post-election report made available to LEADERSHIP in Benin City, which however commended the peaceful conduct of the exercise.

She said, “The 2024 Edo governorship election showcased a wide range of electoral experiences, with some aspects being commendable, others raising concerns, and a few being outright alarming.

“On the positive side, we commend the relative peace that characterised the election day, despite the palpable tension that marked the pre-election phase.

“We believe this was allowed by the Edo citizens and reinforced by the relative adequacy in policing structure and professionalism of security personnel to allow movement of essential workers in most of the LGAs.

“There were few reports of shortage of security personnel in certain poling units–such as Ward 4: PU9, but the security agencies upon getting this information supplied reinforcements at 11 am.

“Even though there were few acts of violence and disruption of pols in Esan Central, Ovia Southwest and collation centers in Oredo, Egor, and Ikpoba-Okha LGAs. It is noteworthy to state that there were no fatalities recorded in this election,” she said.

Idowu further said KDI’s report showed malfunctioned Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) due to technical issues, noting that ad-hoc officers did not have password details as at when they got to their PUs to commence the process.