ADC candidate rejects Ekiti governorship election results, cites vote buying

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate, Dare Bejide, has rejected the gubernatorial election results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Speaking in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Sunday, June 21, 2026, Bejide described the election as lacking credibility.

He alleged that the exercise was conducted in “an atmosphere replica of a war zone”.

The ADC candidate accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of engaging in vote buying through money and food distribution.

Bejide said the government should have relied on its achievements rather than struggling to influence voters.

“My immediate reaction is to reject the result in its entirety because the exercise was not credible,” he said.

Bejide said some polling units, including his, witnessed a tense atmosphere during the election.

“You all witnessed what happened. Some places were almost like a war zone,” Bejide added.

The ADC candidate alleged that political appointees and a serving senator brought thugs and security personnel.

“In some places, it appeared the election was taking place only in my polling unit. It is a sad day for democracy,” the ADC candidate stated.

Bejide further alleged that vote buying was carried out openly at several polling units.

“Bags of money were brought to polling units, and enormous sums were spent,” he said, adding that said such actions reflected poor performance by the government.

“If they had performed well, there would have been no need to rely on money,” Bejide said.

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The ADC candidate said he was still studying the election outcome before deciding his next move.

He said: “I have not personally seen the full results; I have only heard reports on social media,” he said.

“Once we receive and analyse everything, we will brief our party members.

“At this stage, we are certainly not satisfied with the conduct of the election.”

Bejide urged his supporters and Ekiti residents to remain peaceful and calm, saying: “We are carefully studying the results and will know the appropriate steps to take.”