Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, on Saturday, June 18, said that reports of voting-buying in the ongoing governorship election in Ekiti State is not solely synonymous with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Keyamo’s statement comes on the heels of reports suggesting that the APC was involved in mass vote-buying and selling in the ongoing Ekiti polls.
Consequently, in his statement on Twitter, Keyamo said the claims are only subtle messages passed across by opposition parties; all in a bid to see that the ruling party loses the election.
Also Read: Ekiti State voters head to polls to elect Governor today
“Incidences of vote-buying can’t be synonymous only with the ruling party…But the subtle message the other parties try to pass to the gullible is that only the ruling party engages in illegalities & that the only way an election can be deemed credible is if the ruling party loses,” Keyamo lamented.
Incidences of vote-buying can’t be synonymous only with the ruling party, but the subtle message the other parties try to pass to the gullible is that only the ruling party engages in illegalities & that the only way an election can be deemed credible is if the ruling party loses https://t.co/qDDAPBWEs4
— Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) June 18, 2022
Many people have described the election in Ekiti State as peaceful. However, there have been pockets of violence and reports of “money for votes” schemes.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is said to have arrested agents of the ruling APC for alleged vote-buying.
Some of the suspects were apprehended at the Nigerian Police Force’s Oke Ori Omi Area Division; where they were believed to have been caught with funds allegedly used to bribe voters; an act the EFCC authorities claim was done covertly.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu has named Kabiru Masari as his running mate for the 2023 elections.
Specifically, a chieftain of the party Kabiru Faskari said this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“Ibrahim Kabiru Masari is our vice presidential nominee. He was the Welfare Secretary of the APC under Oshiomhole (former national chairman of the party),” he said during the show on Friday, June 17.
“He is a well-known politician in Kaduna State and his name has been submitted.”
Further, Faskari explained that picking Kabiru, who hails from Katsina State, does not violate the country’s laws; as against the clamour for a Muslim/Christian APC ticket.
Additionally, he held that Kabiru is experienced, close to Tinubu; adding that he will not have a problem working with the former Lagos State governor.
“He is young;…represents the youths and is grounded in politics and was even a national official of the APC. He is quite close to the presidential candidate and has been with him for a very long time,” he explained.
