…as APC, PDP test strength in battle for Govt House
No fewer than 1.7m voters in Ondo State will today go to the polls to decide who emerges the next governor of the state.
Incumbent Governor and candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the flagbearer of the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Agboola Ajayi will battle for the votes of the electorate in the state.
Both Aiyedatiwa and Ajayi hail from the Ondo South zone of the state.
Already, there’s anxiety in the 18 local government areas of the state as the battle for the Alagbaka Governor’s office between the APC governorship candidate, Aiyedatiwa, and his closest rival, Ajayi, of the PDP climaxes today with the state’s electorate going to the polls to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.
17 political parties were cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission to participate in today’s exercise with a total of 1,793,914 voters going to the polls to decide the fate of the candidates.
The battle for the soul of Ondo will be fiercer in the southern senatorial district of the state where 16 of the 17 governorship candidates are from.
The two leading candidates – Aiyedatiwa and Ajayi are from Ilaje and Ese-Odo LGAs.This puts more pressure on the people of the zone, as they cast their votes in today’s governorship election in the state.
The situation is however generating diverse views amongst residents of the Southern Senatorial zone regarding which of the candidates to give their votes in today’s election.
While some of the electorate feel obliged to
give their votes to the candidate from their local government, others opposed to this say voting based on such a sentiment can be counter-productive in the long run.
A resident of Akure, the state capital, Femi Adewale told our correspondent that he’ll only vote in today’s election according to the dictates of his conscience and not based on any other sentiment.
“I’m an Ilaje indigene living in Akure. I’ve just arrived in my hometown for tomorrow’s election. I’ll be voting tomorrow based on what my conscience tells me and not because any of the candidates is my kinsman.
“This is democracy and we must choose the best candidate irrespective of his place of origin. This is the only thing that can help us.”
But another resident, Kemi Bamisaiye, said she would support any of the candidates since they are all from Ondo South zone.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up throughout the state as INEC, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps intensified preparations for today’s exercise.
Police have already deployed thousands of its men in the different parts of the state.
They were sighted at various locations in Akure, the state capital, Odigbo, Ondo Town, Okipupa, Irele, Ikare, Igbokoda and other towns and villages across the state.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, on Friday, said about 6,000 personnel of the corps would be on duty during today’s governorship poll in Ondo State.
The personnel, drawn from the South West states and Kogi State, have already been deployed in the 18 local government areas and to some strategic points and routes in the state.
NSCDC Deputy Commandant General in charge of the governorship poll, Philip Ayuba, while addressing journalists in Akure, said that the personnel that would be on duty today were drawn from Special Female Squad, Counter-Terrorism Unit, Agro Rangers Unit, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Unit.
Other NSCDC units contributing personnel for the poll include K-9 Unit, Marine Unit, and Election Monitoring Unit.
“These units will provide comprehensive security coverage across Ondo’s 18 local government areas, 203 wards, and 3,933 polling units,” Ayuba said.
Stating that the corps would work towards providing a secure environment for voters to exercise their rights, the deputy commandant general added that the NSCDC made adequate arrangements to prevent any disruption of the poll and ensure the protection of utilities.
IG deploys policemen
In a related development, the IG has ordered the deployment of Commissioners of Police in the 18 LGAs of Ondo State for the governorship election.
Egbetokun said the development was part of the preparation for the off-cycle election, noting that the force had geared up its preparations and strategies, reinforcing adequate security measures to ensure a smooth run of the electoral process.
Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, stated this in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, the IGP warned troublemakers to steer clear of the election, saying the police would deal with anybody caught causing the breakdown of law and order during the exercise.
The statement partly read, “Local, unauthorised and quasi-security agencies are once again warned to steer clear, as violators will experience severe consequences and face the full wrath of the law.
“Restrictions of movement on the day of the election from 6am till 6pm still remains valid, as members of the public are advised to make adequate preparations to this effect.”
The police added that adequate personnel had been deployed to all polling units.
