Ondo Governorship Election: Parties Stockpile Funds For Vote Buying, Finalize Mergers

With just four days left until the governorship election in Ondo State, political parties are intensifying efforts to secure victory through various strategies.

These include stockpiling cash for alleged vote buying, finalizing merger deals with smaller parties, and wooing influential community leaders with substantial sums to mobilize voters.

Multiple sources within the political landscape who spoke with Punch disclosed that at least ₦20,000 has been earmarked for each voter on election day.

Major parties are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating alliances with smaller parties to bolster their vote counts. This strategic move aims to consolidate support and enhance their chances at the polls.

One of the sources said, “This governorship election is going to be money for money as the politicians have devised means to bombard the polling areas where they perceived to be unpopular, with money, to woo the voters.

“They have planned to pay as much as ₦20,000 per vote. They planned not to take the cash to the polling units for fear of security agencies and EFCC but when they see the person’s thumbprints, his account details would be collected and the money transferred to him.”

Another source confirmed some of the parties had allegedly set aside certain huge amounts of money to woo the voters. He said they reportedly planned to buy votes for between ₦5,000 and ₦20,000, depending on their areas of popularity.

“Many parties rely on the money they would spend to buy votes on Election Day. They plan to spend ₦5,000 or ₦10,000 in the areas where they are popular and N15,000 to N20,000 where they are not. So, in some areas, money would determine who wins the poll,” the source noted.

The platform further stated that politicians from different political parties have continued to storm banks to withdraw as much cash as possible in the past few days.

Several bank customers who desired to withdraw cash from the counter were given less than they requested, with the excuse that there was limited cash available to go around.