Adebayo Adenrele
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Makinde Araoye, has denied allegations that he assaulted the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ambassador Dare Bejide, during Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
Araoye, who spoke with journalists in Ilawe-Ekiti insisted that he is a man of peace and that the incident involving the ADC candidate was merely an altercation that arose after he was allegedly prevented from moving freely within his ward.
The APC Chieftain said his presence at the polling unit was part of his routine during elections to monitor proceedings across the units in his ward and ensure that the electoral process remained peaceful and orderly.
“People who know me know me as a man of peace. I am not just a unit leader or ward leader; I am an APC national leader.
“During every electoral process, I move from one unit to another in my ward to ensure the election process is smooth. When I got to his unit, as a well-trained Yoruba man, I greeted him and he responded.
“As I was about to walk into the unit, he started pushing me back, saying I could not enter the unit. This is my ward and there is no electoral law that prevents me from moving around within my ward.
“I told him that if he had any issue with me, he should talk to me instead of pushing me. By touching me, he had already broken the law and I could have invited the police to arrest him.
“In self-defence, I had to regain my balance and put my hands on him. That was what happened”.
Earlier, Ambassador Bejide gave a different account of the incident, accusing APC leaders of invading his polling unit with thugs and attempting to intimidate him and his supporters.
Speaking with journalists at his polling unit in Oke-Adura, Ward 2, Unit 4, Ilawe-Ekiti, the ADC governorship candidate alleged that several APC leaders, including Araoye, came to his polling unit with money and political loyalists, claiming that some individuals were openly distributing cash to voters in exchange for support.
Bejide further alleged that vote-buying was taking place behind nearby buildings, with voters allegedly being asked to provide photographic evidence of their ballots after voting.
“I reported the incident to the police, but the officers here said they had no capacity to handle it. It is terrible.
“I saw people distributing money. They were sharing money at the back of houses and asking for pictures. It is a bad system.
“They beat my driver. He was bleeding. It is so terrible. This is my polling unit and my ward. We came here for a peaceful election.
“The government is an APC government. Those distributing money are APC members. There is no basis for what they have done today”.
