The All Progressives Congress and the Accord Party, led by Governor Ademola Adeleke, reportedly spent over N100bn on the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, according to findings by Saturday PUNCH.
The funds were reportedly spent on campaign materials, vote buying, payments to party agents and canvassers, security personnel and electoral officers across the state’s 3,763 polling units and 332 wards.
The estimated expenditure far exceeded the N3bn spending limit for governorship candidates under the Electoral Act 2026.
Adeleke won the election with 511,067 votes, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes.
APC polling-unit agents reportedly received N100,000 each, while Accord agents and four other agents representing parties enlisted by Accord received N20,000 each. This meant Accord spent about N100,000 per polling unit, amounting to N376.3m, while the combined APC and Accord expenditure on agents was N752.6m.
The ADC also reportedly paid some of its agents N30,000 each, although the payments did not cover all polling units.
APC ward collation officers were paid N120,000 each, totalling N39.84m for the 332 wards.
Security personnel at polling units reportedly received N100,000 from the APC, N80,000 from Accord and an additional N50,000 from the state government. The combined accountable expenditure on security personnel was put at N865.49m.
Senior police officers were also reportedly paid N2m each by the APC, amounting to N62m across the 31 local government areas and area councils. However, the amount allegedly spent by Accord on senior security officials could not be established.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that electoral officials deployed to the various polling units also benefited from the substantial payments allegedly made by the political parties during the election.
According to multiple sources familiar with the election, both the Accord Party and the All Progressives Congress made payments ranging from N150,000 to N300,000 to electoral teams across the 3,763 polling units in the state.
A former APC lawmaker in Osun State, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the party spent a minimum of N400,000 on security personnel and electoral officials at each polling unit.
He explained that the amount was divided between the two groups, with N300,000 given to the electoral officials and another N100,000 allocated to the security team deployed to the polling unit.
According to him, the payments formed part of the expenses incurred by the party to facilitate its operations and ensure the presence of its personnel and other officials at the polling units during the election.
The ex-lawmaker said, “In my unit in Osogbo LG, we deployed over N400,000. The electoral officers were also given N300,000 – N150,000 for the team lead and N150,000 for the ad hoc staff by our party. The security team in each unit across the state was given N100,000."
Post a Comment