From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
As the June 18 governorship election approaches in Ekiti State, former governor and candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Segun Oni, has called on electorate not to sell their votes but come out en masse and vote for a credible candidate in the forthcoming poll.
He also appealed to stakeholders across the state to use their positions, offices and platforms to preach against this evil that has characterised elections in the state and country.
Oni made the appeal during a chat with our reporter in his hometown, Ifaki-Ekiti.
While expressing regrets, Oni noted that the issue of vote buying which is now the usual practice in elections in Nigeria started in Ekiti State, given the state a bad reputation. He urged
that all hands must be on deck to change the narrative in Ekiti elections and give the state a new name starting with the June 18 poll.
Oni said : “We got the bad reputation of being the place where see and buy, vote buying and all sorts of name they call it, started in Nigeria, because they were saying it, they said it was here (Ekiti).
“We want to ensure that Ekiti will now come alive with a new name.
We will do as much as we can to appeal to the conscience of stakeholders across board.
” I listened to a sermon by the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Reverend Felix Ajakaye, telling the people that they should not sell their votes, we need more of it and every Christian denomination, Muslim denomination, every social club, every trade union group, town unions and so on should make strong and powerful statements and should all come out now to disown vote buying and to put to shame anybody who is found doing it, either by receiving or by giving.
“Let us all stand up to let the rest of the world know that we are not vote buyers in Ekiti, if some people because of their desperation coined the ingenuity, they have brought it to the wrong place.
We want to stamp it out.”
