As the people of Ondo State file out today to elect who will govern the state for the next four years after the expiration of the tenure of Governor Olusegun Mimiko, no fewer than 26,000 conventional policemen, 2,000 Police Mobile Force operatives, 10 cells of Counter Terrorism unit, Marine Police and sniffers dogs and horses have been deployed to the state as part of efforts to ensure that the election is free of criminal activities.
This is even as the state governor, Mimiko, has raised the alarm over alleged plans by INEC officials to foist injustice on the people of the state by insisting on going ahead with today’s governorship election.
The candidates of the three major political parties are poised to slug it out in the governorship poll today. They are Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). Oke is also a lawyer.
The state Commissioner of Police, Hilda Harrison, who disclosed the readiness of the Force to ensure maximum security during the election also hinted that three helicopters (one for each senatorial district) would be used for surveillance during the election while about 20 police gunboats and 12 additional Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) would also be on ground to check any electoral violence.
The police boss said about 300 patrol vehicles would be used for the election, adding that the police would be working in collaboration with other sister security agencies in the state.
Speaking in the same vein, the Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Joseph, said the Inspector General of Police had provided everything required to ensure the success and peaceful conduct of the election.
According to him, anything that has to do with security measures had been put in place and the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Operations, Josak Abila, had been drafted to the state for the special assignment.
Joseph said the DIG would be assisted by two AIGs and three commissioners of police, one for each senatorial district.
“I want warn people, especially those who have negative intents, to be warned that we are out for them and we will not hesitate to deal with anyone trying to truncate this process of this election,” he said.
LEADERSHIP Weekend reports that from the build-up to the poll, the governorship contest taking place in the state today is not going to be a tea party for any of the three gladiators vying for the coveted seat of governor.
Of the 28 political parties presenting candidates for the contest, only the above-mentioned three are the real contenders, and unless an unlikely miracle happens, the others are just in the race to make up the numbers.
Although the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Olu Agunloye, a long-time politician and two-time minister from Erusu-Akoko is seen as a serious politician in the state, his performance at today polls could be affected by the fact that the SDP is weak in the state and it is hard to see him do much more than chase the race.
The main contenders for the state’s number one seat share something in common: they are all legal luminaries. And for the second time in the history of the state, the three leading candidates for the governorship position are representing the three senatorial areas of the state, with each of them not only formidable in his locality but is ready win his domain with a massive dominance.
Chief Olusola Oke represents the southern area; Eyitayo Jegede, fondly called Eyi Sure, is from the central, while Akeredolu, who goes by the nickname Aketi, is from the northern area. While Akeredolu hails from Owo and is largely popular in Owo and other parts of the northern senatorial district.
His party, which holds power at the federal level, had campaigned vigorously for him, with President Muhammadu Buhari himself going to the state along with other party stalwarts to try to take advantage of the in-fighting within the ruling PDP and claim the state.
However, those in the central zone are still holding on to PDP’s Jegede now that he is back in the fray.
Jegede, due to his party’s internal wrangling over its candidate for the poll, had lost most of his supporters and sympathisers to other political parties in the state, but he has suddenly re-emerged on the political scene stronger and mightier, rebuilding broken bridges within the party and expanding the frontiers.
His victory at the Appeal Court has re-awakened the consciousness of the people of the community who feel that this is their time to rule the state for the first time since its creation 40 years ago.
Most of the prominent leaders, including traditional chiefs in the community, are said to be solidly behind him in today’s contest.
Jegede is the outgoing governor’s choice and was naturally the frontrunner in the race before a high court in Abuja under Justice Okon Abang declared his party rival, Jimoh Ibrahim, the PDP candidate.
Even though this knocked him cold, but not out, he lost a lot of momentum as he waited for the appellate court to decide his fate. The outcome of today’s vote would determine how much damage that distraction from the high court caused him.
His party had called for a postponement of the poll to enable him campaign as he was only declared the authentic candidate three days to election day, but the electoral body declined.
As for Olusola Oke of the southern senatorial district, a PDP stronghold, he is likely to coast home to victory in the area due to the crisis rocking the PDP in the state.
The AD candidate is said to have found favour from some sections within PDP, being himself a former national legal adviser of the crisis-torn party. This makes him a force to reckon with as far as this election is concerned.
INEC Foisting Injustice On Ondo People – Mimiko
Meanwhile, Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, has raised the alarm, claiming that INEC officials are foisting injustice on the people of the state by insisting on going ahead with tomorrow’s governorship election.
Mimiko further disclosed that the commission had not released the collation tags for Ward Collation Officers of PDP Ward agents.
Addressing a press conference at the International Events Centre in Akure, the state capital yesterday, the governor alleged that INEC and other forces within the APC had made concerted efforts to prevent the emergence of a credible and electable candidate for the PDP in the state.
Mimiko further disclosed that the Voter Register, which should have been given to the candidates, was released just 48 hours to the election, contrary to the Electoral Law which stipulated 30 days to the poll.
According to the governor, the ungodly process started when INEC, in flagrant disregard of extant laws governing elections, removed the name of Eyitayo Jegede on the basis of a Justice Okon Abang order that had since been declared a fraud by the Appeal Court.
Mimiko said: “We wonder why INEC could remove the name of a man who emerged from a party primary that was conducted in a free, fair and open environment and by legitimate organs of the party, where INEC itself was represented, with another from a process that is illegal, and by people not known to law and logic.
“INEC discarded all legal advice not to substitute Eyitayo Jegede by its own chosen consortium of lawyers!
“Several other hurdles were placed on the ways of the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, to the extent that he did not become a candidate until about 48 hours to the election, on the directive of the Court of Appeal.
“INEC did not release the voter register to the PDP until yesterday, in clear infraction of its own laws and against its advertised ‘Time Table and Schedule of Activities” for the Ondo election.
“INEC refused to publish Eyitayo Jegede’s name for 30 days as stipulated in Section 34 of the Electoral Act 2010.
“INEC denied Eyitayo Jegede the right to submit his party agents’ list at least seven days before the election as stipulated in Section 45 of the Electoral Act 2010, among many others. As we speak, collation tags for Ward Collation officers are not available for PDP Ward agents.
“More than the above, the agents on INEC list are agents submitted by a man already aptly described by the courts as an impostor, who has also openly showed he is working as a fifth columnist in the Ondo election.”
He further said that as a people known to abhor injustice, they shall not accept such a faulty electoral process.
“In this instance, injustice stares us in the face and we are about being treated like slaves and a conquered people in our own country.
We shall not take this,” he vowed.
We Are Ready To Conduct Poll- INEC
Meanwhile, the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has declared its readiness to prosecute the vote in Ondo State.
The Resident Electoral Commission (REC), Segun Agbaje, disclosed that all sensitive materials had been dispatched to all the 18 local government areas of the state on Thursday.
Agbaje said the officials and ad hoc staff of the commission are also expected to be in their various local governments and units by 6pm yesterday (Friday).
While disclosing the level of preparedness of the commission, Agbaje said every eligible voter would be accredited and given the ballot paper immediately, and thereafter proceed to vote immediately without a break.
The REC maintained that the Smart Card Reader (SCR) remained the means of accreditation.
According to him, “We have been assured of adequate security by the Nigerian Police as the lead agency in election security. We had a meeting of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security where an elaborate deployment and operational plan was agreed upon.
“This involves early and adequate deployment for general security as well as specific deployment for the protection of staff and material from our state Headquarters to the 18 local government.
“We have been assured by the security agencies that any act contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act will be promptly dealt with. This is without prejudice to the right of citizens who may wish to stay some distance away from the polling units after voting to witness the counting of ballots.”
According to a record made available by the electoral commission, about 1.2 million voters will participate in today’s voting exercise across the 18 LGAs in the state, with over 55 per cent of the voters consisting of youths between the ages of 18 and 50.
PDP Accuses INEC Of Compromise
Ahead of today’s to Ondo State governorship election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has passed a vote of no confidence on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The party also alleged that it has uncovered plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the Ondo’s election by conniving with some officials of INEC.
It specifically alleged that some election mercenaries were brought in from Imo State to help rig the election in Ondo State.
The national publicity secretary of PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, stated this at a press conference in Abuja.
While he expressed confidence that PDP will retain Ondo State in a free and fair election, he, however, lamented that their candidate, Hon Eyitayo Jegede, had lost three weeks of campaign time due to the distractions caused by Sen Ali Modu Sheriff and Jimoh Ibrahim at the courts.
He further expressed anger at the decision of INEC to publish Ibrahim’s name when it had monitored Eyitayo Jegede’s primary, and even when there was court order that Jegede’s name should not be substituted.
Adeyeye declared that the party will impose severe sanctions on Sheriff and his allies for all their efforts to undermine the party’s interest, which he described as the height of treachery.
He said: “Democracy is under threat in Nigeria. APC is not going to allow free and fair election. Edo State massively was rigged; they are working to rig Ondo election.
“We don’t have confidence in INEC going to Ondo. INEC should by now be called Partial National Electoral Commission. People should tell INEC to do its work creditably. With a free and fair election, PDP is confident of victory in the polls.”
Adeyeye further accused INEC of helping to derail the party in the run-up to the poll.
“They monitored the primary that brought Jegede and yet substituted his name. We reliably gathered that INEC’s team of consultants advised it to retain Jegede’s name but it was ignored,” he said.
The PDP spokesman added, however, that even with the plan of APC to distract PDP’s candidate, Jegede will still win. He further hailed the judiciary for a good job in checking the antics of the Sheriff-led faction and its candidate, Jimoh Ibrahim.
“We are grateful to God and the judiciary. Supreme Court realised that the other party was out to delay justice. They made 16 interlocutory injunctions to the Supreme Court. I cannot understand why people, like this party, want to destroy PDP. I do not want to share this party with these people.
“The level of desperation of these people is just unimaginable. In fact, I want to say categorically that these people are not PDP members; they do not mean well for the party and, at the appropriate time, disciplinary measures will be meted out to them,” Adeyeye asserted.
Adeyeye maintained that PDP would win the election if it was free and fair, adding, “People are waiting and ready to cast their ballots for Jegede. APC is planning to rig and claim that PDP lost because it did not campaign for the election.”
He also dispelled reports that PDP in the state was ready to work with the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Mr Olusola Oke, if Jegede was denied candidacy of the the party by the courts. He, however, added that in the absence of Jegede, Oke would have won the election, and not Rotimi Akeredolu of the APC.
On when the national leadership will return to its national headquarters, popularly called Wadata House, Adeyeye said, “We are not in a hurry to move into that place because of some diabolical things that have been done there. Even the staff knows this.”
Provide Evidence Of Compromise – INEC
Meanwhile, INEC has said that the fears being expressed by the PDP were unfounded, asserting that there is no evidence to show that its officials deployed for the governorship poll in Ondo State had been compromised in their previous assignments.
In a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend yesterday, the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, advised interested persons to concentrate on the integrity of the process and not the person.
Hitting back at the PDP, Oyekanmi said: “If they said the man compromised, why don’t they give us the evidence that he compromised? Or are they afraid that the man will not compromise?
“In our guidelines, there is no limit to the number of times someone can be used. The only thing we can look into if people come out with evidence that the man compromised. You can’t question our choice of returning officer. That is our own internal affairs.
“It is not the man that is there, it is the process. All the political parties have agents who will be at every point, from the ward level to REC, to local government level and the collation centre. So one man cannot influence the election; even the REC in Ondo cannot influence the election. People should not concentrate on personality but the process,” he said.
Also reacting to this development, former aviation minister and chieftain of the PDP, Femi Fani-Kayode warned INEC not to cause trouble in Ondo.
He said: “Prince Adedeji Soyebi, who is the INEC national commissioner for the South-West is leading the team for the Ondo State governorship election tomorrow whilst Professor Kayode Soremilekun, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye, is the Returning Officer.
“This is a dangerous combination. Both men are anti-PDP and Soremilekun is the same individual that was appointed as the returning officer for the Edo State 2016 governorship election.
“Sadly, we witnessed the havoc that he caused there. He shamelessly rigged the election for APC in Edo and he is under orders to do the same in Ondo State tomorrow.
“We must stop him and those that sent him on this robbery operation.
Ondo State is not Edo and if they rig the election, there will be consequences,” Fani-Kayode warned.
APC Chieftain Killed In Owo
A chieftain of APC in Owo, Mr Afolabi Olaposi, has been killed by unknown gunmen in Owo.
In a statement issued by its publicity secretary, Mr Abayomi Adesanya, yesterday in Akure, the party stated that Olaposi was shot dead on Thursday night on his way home after attending a meeting of the party in preparation for the governorship election.
The statement noted: “Olaposi, who is one of the leaders of our party in Igboroko Ward 1, Owo, was also an ardent supporter of our governorship candidate, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN). He was a perfect gentleman who was committed to the development of the party in Owo and Ondo State in general.
“The assailant also went to the house of Chief Jamiu Ekungba, an APC aspirant in the Septemner 3 Primary, and vandalised seven vehicles in his compound. Ekungba was not at home during the attack. We believe those calling for the postponement of the election and threatening a repeat of 1983 violence were behind these dastardly acts”.
The party called on security agents in the state to fish out those behind these dastardly act and provide adequate protection to people before, during and after the election.
AD Warns Against Manipulation of Results
The candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in today’s governorship election in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, has warned INEC and security agencies against manipulating the results of the election in favour of any party, especially the APC.
Speaking through the director-general, Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, Hon. Bola Ilori, in Akure, the state capital yesterday, Oke warned that any attempt to manipulate the result of the election will be resisted by the people the state.
While saying that his party is law abiding party, Ilori noted that the people of the state should be allowed to choose who rules them.
“We will support anything that will aid the peaceful conduct of election. However, we will not fold our arms and allow our destinies to be determined by people who are not only political invaders, but people who have subjected our people to untold hardship.
“Also, the security agencies should make sure they don’t take sides.
They should deal with anybody who foments trouble. Just like we have told our people, they should not allow anybody to dictate what they will do to them but make sure they keep vigil and defend their votes,” he said.
According to him, the party is aware of plans to cause trouble in Akoko Land, Ondo South senatorial district and other areas considered to be strongholds of AD.
He, however, warned that if President Muhammadu Buhari cannot deliver the dividends of democracy he promised the people, he should not cause chaos in the state.
“He should warn INEC and security agencies against enacting a replica of 1983 political crisis in the state,” Ilori warned.
credit: Leadership
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