Voters in Ejigbo, Olaoluwa, Egbedore, Iwo, Ayedaade and Ede South Local Government Areas of Osun State, on Saturday, were out early on Saturday to exercise their franchise in Saturday’s governorship election, amid reports of card readers hitches and vote-buying across many units of the local governments.

According to Sunday Tribune, vote-buying menace continued in the election, though with a new modus operandi, as some party loyalists were seen clutching papers and writing materials, penciling in the names of voters meant to patronise their parties, while some other individuals monitored voting in the booth.

This development was noticed at Ward 2, Unit 1, Ejigbo; Ward 6, Unit 7, Ode Omu in Ayedaade Local Government and Ward 8, Unit 2, Sekona in Ede South Local Government, among others, with voters who spoke to Sunday Tribune noting that they write names before voting and that they had been directed to see the writer of names and some party chiefs after voting.

One of the ‘agents’ writing names refused to disclose his name or his party, noting that he had indeed been writing names of voters for record purpose and “not for vote-buying.”

The ADP candidate, Adeoti, had, however, hinted at the vote-buying development when he told Sunday Tribune that he heard reports of vote-buying in some areas in Iwo and had immediately alerted the security agents to the development.

Similarly, Director of Media, Senator Adeleke Ademola Campaign Organisation, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, stated that there had been reports of vote-buying by some parties, denying, however, that his party was involved in the development.

•Excerpted from a Sunday Tribune report