Opposition parties have strongly criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged widespread vote-buying, ballot irregularities, and administrative lapses during Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State and simultaneous by-elections across the country.
While commending improvements in logistics and the relatively peaceful conduct of the polls, parties such as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Labour Party (LP) raised serious concerns about electoral integrity and transparency.
The National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Osa Director, noted that although the Ekiti governorship election was largely violence-free, it was marred by rampant vote-buying and irregularities.
“Although the Ekiti election was violence-free, it was marred by allegations of vote buying. I don’t know why INEC allowed people to get away with vote buying right under the watch of its officials,” he said.
Director also questioned how some individuals possessed voters’ cards that did not belong to them and urged INEC to address these lapses before the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the SDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, acknowledged logistical improvements but condemned vote-buying and the omission of his party’s agents from the system in some areas.
He described these actions as a breach of public trust and called on Nigerians to resist any compromise of the democratic process.
The Labour Party expressed mixed views on the Enugu North Senatorial District by-election. While praising the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and orderly conduct in some areas, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, highlighted a major omission, the Labour Party’s name was missing from the ballot paper.
“This serious oversight risks the outright cancellation of the entire poll,” Asogwa warned.
In Nasarawa North Senatorial District, Labour Party candidate Labaran Maku rejected the results, describing the exercise as a “sham” and alleging BVAS failures, ballot manipulation, and interference by government officials. He demanded a fresh poll.
Similar rejections and allegations of logistical failures, vote-buying, and result manipulation were also raised by Labour Party and Action Alliance candidates in the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election.
The opposition parties’ complaints have once again spotlighted recurring challenges in Nigeria’s electoral process and raised questions about INEC’s readiness for larger elections in 2027.
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