With only four days left until the Ondo State gubernatorial election, political parties are intensifying their efforts to seize victory using various strategies.
These include stockpiling cash for alleged vote-buying, entering into merger deals with smaller political parties, and providing large sums of money to powerful regional leaders to mobilize voters.
Several political insiders who spoke to Mr Punch revealed that at least £20,000 was allocated to each voter on election day.
Major political parties are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating alliances with smaller parties to increase their vote share. This strategic move is aimed at consolidating support and improving its chances at the polls.
One of the people said, “Politicians are devising ways to dump money into polling places that are considered unpopular in order to attract voters, and this gubernatorial election is likely to be a money-maker.” ” he said.
“They plan to pay up to ₦20,000 per vote. They planned not to bring cash to the polling booths for fear of security agencies and the EFCC, but if the person’s thumbprint is seen, The person’s account details will be collected and the money will be transferred to him.”
Another official confirmed that some political parties are said to have amassed huge sums of money to woo voters. He said he had been told votes would be bought for between £5,000 and £20,000, depending on the popular area.
“Many political parties depend on the money they would spend to buy votes on election day. They spend ₦5,000 or ₦10,000 in popular areas and 15,000 to 20,000 naira in unpopular areas. So in some areas money will decide who wins at the polls,” the source pointed out.
The platform further stated that over the past few days, politicians from various political parties have continued to raid banks to withdraw as much cash as possible.
Several bank customers who wanted to withdraw cash from the teller were handed over less than requested, citing the excuse that they could only carry limited cash.
