Vote Buying: IGP Orders Probe of Ogun State Governor, APC Chairman

The last may not have been heard about the March 18 Governorship election in Ogun state as the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the probe of Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the State, Chief Yemi Sanusi over allegation of vote buying, other electoral offences.

The IGP in a letter dated 8th May, 2023 and signed by the Principal Staff Officer to the IGP, CSP Idris Abdullahi Abubakar directed the Ogun State Commissioner of Police to investigate the allegations.

The People’s Democratic Party, had through its lawyer, Ehi Uwaifoh & Co, petitioned the IGP over vote buying, snatching and destruction of ballot boxes, thuggery and gun running allegations against the Governor, the party and its leadership.

In petition letter seen ValidView Network, the opposition party alleged that Governor Abiodun, Sanusi and the party before the election, embarked on voters’ inducements by distributing N5,000 cash in government official envelopes to the electorate in Ogun State, ‘to induce them to vote for him at the general election.’

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The PDP also alleged that Governor Abiodun and the APC caused a pre-loaded top up cards of N5,000 and N10,000 to be distributed to voters on the day of the election, to buy votes in favour of the governor.

Alleging that over 500,000 of the cards were printed, the PDP further alleged that the cumulative amount in the cards and the cost of printing was over N5bn which is well above the N1b financial threshold mandated by Section 88 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

On the election day, the PDP further alleged that Abiodun, Sanusi and the APC ‘unleashed heavily armed thugs’ on its supporters and voters whom were going to vote against them, adding that some of the victims escaped death by the whisker.

The APC had earlier written a similar petition against the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Hon Ladi Adebutu, for which a suit has been instituted against him and few others before the Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta.