CANDIDATES of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State have good outings in their respective polling units during the November 16 governorship election.
The incumbent governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the APC emerged victorious in Igbo Ward 4, Polling Unit 5, Ilaje Local Government Area where he secured 128 votes, far ahead of his PDP rival, who garnered only 3 votes at the polling unit.
On the other hand, Agboola Ajayi of the PDP recorded victory at his polling unit, Apoi Ward II, Unit 004 in Kiribo, Ese Odo Local Government Area where he polled 194 votes, outpacing Aiyedatiwa, who got only 3 votes.
The ICIR reported that sorting and counting began shortly after the final voters were accredited and cast their ballots in various polling units.
About 1,757,205 registered voters with permanent voter cards (PVCs) were eligible to participate in the election, conducted across 3,933 polling units in the state’s 18 local government areas today, Saturday, November 16.
The Ondo governorship election was initially contested by 18 candidates, but three withdrew from the race.
However, the race is primarily seen as a fierce contest between the incumbent governor Aiyedatiwa and Ajayi. Both candidates hail from the southern senatorial district of the state.
Challenges mar voting process
The election process was marred by malfunctions of the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and allegations of vote-buying in multiple locations.
In areas such as Okitipupa and Ondo South, voters expressed frustration over delays caused by faulty BVAS devices, which struggled to accredit voters promptly. The resulting long queues led to complaints of disenfranchisement.
In Ondo West Local Government Area, incidents of voter inducement were observed by The ICIR reporter. The footage showed individuals distributing money to voters at 18, Omolare Street, near Polling Units 06 and 05 in Ward 7.
The ICIR gathered that voters were offered ₦5,000, though the political party involved could not be verified.
Recall that Ajayi critisised INEC for what he described as a poorly managed election. Ajayi, who cast his vote around 10:45 a.m., faced technical glitches with the BVAS for some minutes before being able to vote.
He slammed the national electoral body for ‘failing’ to properly organise the election.
Aiyedatiwa hopes for victory
Speaking with journalists after casting his vote, Aiyedatiwa expressed optimism that many of his supporters would turn out at the polls to cast their votes for his party, hoping that the ‘large turnout’ during the campaign would translate into votes.
Commenting on INEC’s conduct, Aiyedatiwa said election materials arrived early at his polling unit, adding that information available to him also indicated that election materials had reached other parts of the state.
The governor also stated that “With what we have done for the last 10 months, the populace, the voters, like I said, they know who they want,” the governor said.
“I believe I’m in an advantaged position to win this election because of the work that I have done in the last 10 months since I assumed office as the governor of the state. We traversed the entire 18 local governments; and visited communities all across.”
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M