The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, cast his vote on Saturday but raised concerns about the integrity of the election process, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission of compromising the exercise.
Ajayi arrived at Polling Unit 4 in Idumado Quarter, Kiribo, Ese-Odo Local Government Area nearly two hours after voting had commenced.
His accreditation process was delayed due to technical issues with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machine, which caused a disruption at the polling station.
After voting, Ajayi expressed dissatisfaction with the way INEC handled the process, particularly the difficulties he faced during accreditation.
He noted that it took officials over five minutes to resolve the BVAS issue before he could be registered and allowed to vote.
While acknowledging the peaceful behaviour of voters at the polling unit, Ajayi criticized INEC for the delays and called for greater transparency in the election.
He raised concerns that the issues with the BVAS were symptomatic of broader problems with the electoral process in the state.
Ajayi also questioned the competence and fairness of INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo, alleging that the election system had been compromised.
Speaking with newsmen, Ajayi said, “Things are not working. It took more than 10 minutes to capture me, the candidate of PDP.
“If INEC cannot organise a successful election in one state, you must know that we are running into anarchy.
“I think it’s deliberate on the part of INEC, the REC. We have said it several times that we don’t trust Barrister Olatoyin Babalola, that this woman can’t be fair. The system is compromised.”
