Residents of Osun State, mostly women, were allegedly given ₦10,000 each and made to swear a religious oath to vote for Governor Ademola Adeleke in the coming governorship election, raising fresh concerns about vote-buying and voter intimidation.
A viral video showed the residents collecting cash before taking an oath allegedly organised by people identified as loyalists of Governor Adeleke.
Following the coordinator, the group pledged to vote for the governor while calling on biblical blessings if they kept the promise and curses if they failed.
“I will vote for Demola Adeleke. I promise to be a faithful and honest person and I promise to do what you want and if I refuse to do it, all the troubles and calamities in the Bible should be mine. But if I collect money and vote for him, all the goodness in the Bible should be mine,” they recited.
The allegation surfaced days before Osun residents are due to elect a governor in what political observers describe as one of Nigeria’s most closely watched off-cycle governorship elections.
Governor Adeleke is seeking another term amid a strong challenge from opposition parties.
The claim also follows recent political controversy involving the Federal Government and the EFCC. On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu directed the EFCC to unfreeze the Osun State Government’s bank account. His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the President informed Governor Adeleke during a phone call.
Tinubu had earlier said the EFCC acted under a valid court order but was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing, stressing that nothing should suggest federal institutions were influencing the election. He directed the agency to ask the court to vacate the order and end all actions linked to the account freeze.
The EFCC said it froze the accounts while investigating the alleged diversion of about ₦11 billion in public funds and insisted the action was not politically motivated.
