Umar Ardo, the candidate for governorship of the Social Democratic Party in the election for governor of Adamawa State, has revealed that politicians and voters in the Adamawa gubernatorial election engaged in vote buying and vote selling. Ardo is the candidate for governorship of the Social Democratic Party.
Umar Ardo asserted that he did not have the financial resources necessary to buy votes. He disclosed that after paying his agents who watched the poll, he was left with less than N17 million in his bank account. He said this was the case after he paid his operatives.
Umar Ardo made the observation that at the time he was made aware that he had just N17 million left, the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party were flaunting billions of naira that had been used to buy votes.
Umar Ardo continued by stating that there was a significant amount of vote-buying in the urban regions of Adamawa State. He went on to say that even though there was evidence of people buying votes in rural areas, the level of voter intimidation was significantly higher.
Umar Ardo claimed that the metropolitan areas of Adamawa State had effectively been turned into a market place where votes were sold to whoever offered the greatest price. In conclusion, he stated that he did not believe the elections in Adamawa were free and fair.
