Crisis broke out on Saturday at Ikere Ekiti, Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State following the shooting of one Jide Owolabi in the buttocks by a security man attached to the state’s Deputy Governor, Dr. Kolapo Olusola.
It was gathered that trouble broke out when some supporters of the All Progressives Congress in the area challenged the deputy governor while moving around during the exercise, contrary to the Electoral Act, which restricted vehicular movement.
Olusola said he was going to attend to a problem in the area when the attackers swooped on him and hauled stones on him.
In the process, he said his official car was damaged badly.
Hon. Anthony Adeniyi, an APC stalwart and member of the National Assembly, said the deputy governor was attacked by the youths for violating the electoral law, which forbade vehicular movement during the poll.
Also, two National Assembly candidates of the APC, Hon. Bimbo Daramola and Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, said political thugs, allegedly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party, attacked them in their homes.
The duo, who are members of the House of Representatives are seeking re-election to represent their constituencies.
However, the exercise was described as peaceful by all who commented on the election, including Governor Ayo Fayose, who voted a few minutes after 1pm, former governors Kayode Fayemi and Segun Oni, Senator Ayo Arise, Ojo, and the Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
They also lauded the use of card reader by the INEC though there were reports of hitches from the machine.
Accreditation started as early as 8am as voters had arrived the centres as early as 7.30am, while INEC officials were seeing arriving with election materials from 7.15am.
At Erijiyan 1, unit 004, in Ekiti West council of Ekiti State, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo described the process as “nice.”
He said: “So far so good, its being successful in this polling booth.”
He said the card reader was about 80 per cent to 90 per cent successful in the area.
He, however, said that he was attacked by yet-to-be-identified hoodlums.
He said: “I have shouted on radio that they were planning attack on me.
“It has been incidented at Aramoko Police Station.
“It happened on Friday/Saturday.
“They shot for three hours.
“Six houses, vehicles and properties were damaged.
“Police came after the attack.
“But we are going to pursue the case after this election.
“We did a lot of mobilisation before today.
“It may be a strategy of the opposition.”
Ojo alleged that there was a master plan by political thugs of the opposition to attack him on Friday night.
The state REC, Sam Olumekun, had earlier said 732,776 Permanent Voter Cards had been collected, representing over 70 per cent of registered voters, adding that over 2,000 smart card readers were deployed for the election.
The Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, told journalists on Friday that the command had deployed 6,000 men and officers comprising the regular police and other sister security operatives in the state.
In addition, the CP said 100 patrol vehicles would be used to ensure security at the 2,289 voting units across the state.
At 04 Erinwa 1, unit 006 in Ise Ekiti, Femi Fagbemi told our correspondent that though the card reader was a bit slow but commended the use of the machine. He said it took the card reader less than one minute to accredit him.
Adeyeye, a PDP chieftain, attributed the massive turnout in his area to the sensitization by his political party, adding that the PDP had been able to take its message to the people.
He said that it would be unfair to deny President Goodluck Jonathan the second chance since the South West had theirs through former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He boasted that Jonathan would win the election and appealed to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to accept his impending defeat in good faith.
Areas where card readers failure was recorded included Ward 3, Ode Ekiti.
At Unit 005, Ward 3 Ode Ekiti, Gboinyin local government of Ekiti State, Chief Florence Salami, the Labour Party agent at the polling unit, said the card reader rejected some fingers adding that such people were however taken care of through the incident forms.
The APC candidate in Ekiti South Federal Constituency 2, Hon. Bamidele Faparusin, complained that some card readers did not work effectively in some areas in the ward. He said he had contacted the Election Officer of the local government who promised to rescue the situation.
He lamented that some of his supporters were allegedly harassed by PDP thugs, adding: “We had to manage it in order not to heat up the polity. We expected that and we were prepared for such a thing.”
Faparusin said the failure of card readers would not however be a serious challenge to accreditation since there are incident forms to fill.
The candidate of Labour Party in the Ekiti June 21 governorship election, Hon. Michael Bamidele, also lauded the peaceful conduct of the poll and the use of card reader saying it took him less than two minutes to be accredited.
Bamidele said: “For me the process of accreditation was ok even with the first time of conducting election with the use of technology. It shows we are growing.”
Our correspondent observed low turn out at Ire Ekiti where the candidate of the APC, for Ekiti North Federal Constituency 1, who is also seeking return to the National Assembly, Hon Bimbo Daramola said people were scared to come out for fear of being attacked.
Daramola alleged that some political thugs allegedly sponsored by the PDP had earlier threatened his supporters in the area.
He added “we did a lot of mobilisation before today. It may be a strategy of the opposition.”
He alleged that there was a master plan by political thugs of the opposition to attack him on Friday night.
He commended the INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, for insisting on the use of card reader.
Daramola complained of inadequate security arrangement in the area saying there should have been more men at the polling booths than “just patrolling up and down.”
At unit 011 Ebi Ilawe, Ire Ward 2, 89 out of 144 that registered came for accreditation as at 11.31am.
INEC Presiding Officer, Ikenyi Chinaso, a corps member, said 89 had so far been accredited by the card reader.
Governor Kayode Fayemi, who was accredited at his Ogilolo Quarters in Isan Ekiti, his country home, also expressed worry that there were violent incidences in parts of the state including Ikere Ekiti where he alleged that the state’s deputy governor was going about with a pistol.
Fayemi said he spent less than one minute for the card reader to get him accredited.
Commenting on failure of the card readers in some areas, Fayemi said: “We should give INEC the benefit of the doubt.”
He said since technology is being introduced into the electoral system for the first time, it will not damage the system.
He said those who filled the incident form should be allowed to vote.
He added: “Security agents are not many, no road blocks but contingent of security people moving around.
“We should be more watchful when voting starts.”
Segun Osinkolu, a chieftain of the APC, said there was need to be conscious of security during voting and collation of results.
Osinkolu said: “The good thing is the card reader but I’m worried, the exercise is too peaceful.
“Security is pretty adequate and it was not as frightening as it was during the governorship election.”
A former lawmaker, Senator Ayo Arise, said the turnout was a bit low compared to past exercises but expressed hope that President Jonathan would win gallantly in Oye Ekiti because of his achievements in the area.
He said: “This is a PDP town and Jonathan’s town. Again the Federal University is located here, so the people would remain grateful to him. As a former senator, I am from here and will mobilise for him.”
He said the fact that the people knew that their votes would count further encouraged them to come and vote for the President.
While commending INEC on the use of card readers, Arise said though the machines had some challenges but would reduce rigging. “And this was done under the President and I believe people will show gratitude. My campaign here is one of the simplest because I have something to campaign about. I assure you that the people of this town will vote 95 percent for the President.
Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi, a chieftain of the APC, who is also seeking re-election, commended the peaceful conduct of the poll saying he was yet to receive any negative report about the exercise from his Ifaki country home.
Adetumbi commended the use of card reader saying no reported failure of the machine in his Iwore unit 003, ward 1, Ifaki.
Former Governor Segun Oni, who is also the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the APC, in an interview, said he heard a report that somebody was shot in Ikere but the process was peaceful in Ifaki, his country home.
Oni said: “We must commend the people for being orderly and also INEC officials for rising up to their responsibilities.”
He said he was not impressed by the low turnout compared to past elections where there were larger turn out.
He said when the process is free and fair, people must learn to win and lose.
However, the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Olubunmi Olusola, said he was almost killed on Saturday by some APC thugs stationed along Odo Oja Area in Ikere Ekiti to ambush him.
The Deputy Governor said he received a call that card reader machines in some polling booths were not functioning hence he decided to visit the polling booths based on the reports but at Odo Oja Area, some APC thugs who apparently had been stationed there to cause violence in Ikere welcomed him with stones and the security attached to him had to shoot in the air to disperse the hoodlums.
A statement issued on his behalf said: “We are amazed at lies being circulated in the media by the APC that an APC member was shot by the Deputy Governor’s security. The security agent posted for the election saw what happened.
“The surname of APC is lies and that is why it can never win this election.”
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