The Senate spokesman and Senator representing EkitiSouth Senatorial District, Yemi Adaramodu, has refuted allegations that members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were involved in vote-buying during the governorship election in Ekiti State.
Adaramodu described the allegation as false and mischievous, claiming it was being propagated by members of the opposition.
The senator, who spoke with journalists after casting his vote at Unit 1, Ward 11, Ilawe-Ekiti, said those making the allegations belonged to unpopular political parties.
He said: “You can see for yourself. Have you ever seen anybody retailing votes for sale? Have you seen anybody exchanging votes for money? Where is it? Whenever somebody is about to lose an election, you hear all these kinds of frivolous allegations.
“‘They have bought votes; they have done this; they have done that.’ Yet, you can see people smiling. You are here and you can see people smiling. They do not look like people who were forced to vote, coerced to vote, or whose votes were bought.
“These are people who have simply carried out their civic responsibility as citizens of Ekiti State. They have done what is expected of them. So, I do not see it, and I have never heard of it. I am a senator and I have been in the progressive movement for a very long time. I believe I am one of the critical custodians of the APC.
“The APC will never engage in such acts because the only way to convince the electorate and perform well at the polls is to govern well. After doing all those things, we simply wait for D-Day, and D-Day is election day. So, why would we have to do that? We do not.
“You know, every baby that loses a biscuit will cry and begin to make excuses. For us in the APC, we have no reason to do that. We have never done it and we will never do it. If anybody has any evidence, they should come forward and show us.
“Maybe the other side, because they are not popular and are not on the ground, wanted to buy votes, but nobody was willing to sell votes to them.”
He, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and other stakeholders for ensuring that the electoral process remained peaceful and hitch-free.
- Media Report