Politics

Allegations of N20bn Election Bribery Spark Heated Clash Between Aiyedatiwa and PDP

Published by Tope Fakinlede on November 21st, 2024.

Allegations of N20bn Election Bribery Spark Heated Clash Between Aiyedatiwa and PDP

A heated disagreement has erupted in Ondo State, with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accusing Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of embezzling N20 billion from state funds to finance his campaign for last Saturday’s governorship election.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PDP’s Campaign Council Director-General, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, claimed that Aiyedatiwa used the funds for vote-buying, alleging that the governor distributed N10,000 to individual voters. Olafeso described the tactics as part of a larger scheme of “money politics” that undermines the democratic process.

He argued that the scale of the alleged misuse of state resources was unprecedented, adding that such actions had exacerbated poverty in the state. “It’s clear that poverty was being weaponized for electoral manipulation. The criminality of this act is something we are investigating,” Olafeso stated. He further criticized the ruling party for resorting to financial inducements just days before the election, saying it had distorted the will of the people.

“The people’s choice was clear 48 hours before the election. But the influence of money changed everything. In a state where many live in poverty, N10,000 is a lot, and it bought a lot of votes,” Olafeso added.

However, in a swift rebuttal, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo rejected the allegations, calling them unfounded and misleading. Steve Otaloro, the party’s Director of Media and Publicity, dismissed the claims as a “fallacy,” emphasizing that the APC’s campaign financing was transparent and within the bounds of the law.

“Our campaign was fully compliant with electoral regulations. We did not use any government funds for our election campaign. All of our financial records are open and will stand up to scrutiny,” Otaloro said in an interview. He further explained that the campaign had been funded through donations from party members, supporters, and fundraising activities, with additional contributions from the APC’s national headquarters.

Otaloro assured that the party was committed to transparency and would cooperate with any investigation into its finances, stressing that their campaign operations had followed the legal framework set out by the Electoral Act.