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Anxiety in the 18 local government areas of Ondo State has reached fever pitch as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi, of the Peoples Democratic Party, battle for the Government House in the state (Alagbaka House) today.
All hands have been on deck with the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps raising the level of their preparation for the Saturday governorship election.
No fewer than 17 political parties were cleared by INEC to participate in the exercise with 1,793,914 voters set to decide the fate of the candidates.
Sequel to the promise of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to deploy over 22,000 men and officers to the state for effective security of lives and property, security operatives are already on the ground.
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.
The anxiety seems to be more in the southern senatorial district of the state where 16 of the 17 governorship candidates hailed from.
Ilaje and Ese-Odo LGAs have the two leading candidates – Aiyedatiwa and Ajayi.
Residents of the zone, however, have divergent views on the candidates as some believe it is proper to vote for the candidates in their local government, while others say voting for candidates based on kinsmanship will not produce the governor for the state.
A resident of Akure, Oluseun Isaac, said he would vote according to his conscience and not whether the candidate was from his town or local government.
“I am from Ilaje, but I live in Akure. I am in my hometown to vote in the election. But I have to vote based on my conscience not because any of the candidates is from my local government.
“Such a system cannot move Nigeria forward. Democracy is about choosing anybody that suits you, not to be restricted to certain selected people,” Isaac stated.
Another resident of the state capital, who is an indigene of Okitipupa, Mrs Adeyemi Semiwo, commended the idea of picking the next governor of the state from Ondo South zone, saying the zone was behind in terms of development.
She said she would support any of the candidates as long as they all came from Ondo South zone.
Opposition faults NURTW’s role
Meanwhile, opposition parties have expressed strong objection to the role of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in distributing election materials for the governorship election in the state.
They alleged that the NURTW, led by Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo, had political affiliations with the APC, raising concerns over the neutrality and fairness of the electoral process.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, alleged that using NURTW members to distribute election materials could facilitate rigging in favour of the APC.
“The appointment of MC Oluomo as the national president of NURTW is a sad narrative to constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
“The APC has shown desperation, unwavering commitment to compromise electoral process, and therefore neutralising the voices of dissent. This will further enhance APC’s chances of rigging the election.
“We fear that this is a continuity of the script that they (APC) are playing out and it is unfortunate and sad; it is going to strengthen the electoral malfeasance that this country has been plagued with since 2015 after the loss of the election by the PDP,” Abdullahi said.
Also speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Ladipo Johnson, called on INEC to reconsider its decision and assign election material logistics to a neutral body to ensure a transparent and credible process.
Johnson argued that using NURTW, which has members with deep connections to different political interests, could lead to an unfair advantage for certain candidates or parties.
“This has been our position for many years; we have always been saying that this is wrong. The NURTW is a partisan organisation.
“INEC should look for better ways to distribute and circulate its materials. There are many logistics companies, but our agitation has always fallen on deaf ears. They have always been coming with different arguments.
“It is of great concern to us; members of NURTW are very partisan. It is difficult for us to have free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria with this arrangement,” Johnson said.
INEC allays fear
However, INEC reiterated that today’s poll would be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere, adding that adequate preparation had been made for the exercise to be successful.
The Head, Publicity Unit of the Ondo office of the commission, Dr Tope Akanmu, said all sensitive materials for the election had reached the local government areas.
He explained that the engagement of commercial drivers would not in any way affect the smooth conduct of the election, in spite of the emergence of MC Oluomo as the National President of the NURTW. MC Oluomo is a loyalist of President Bola Tinubu and a strong supporter of the APC.
Akanmu said, “Regarding the National Union of Road Transport Workers, the Independent National Electoral Commission only engages the vehicles and drivers directly, not the union itself.
“However, we have a Memorandum of Understanding with the union to facilitate the provision of those vehicles.
“Each driver engaged under this agreement is subject to specific rules governing their involvement. Should any driver violate these rules, they will be held personally accountable — not the NURTW, but the drivers who provide the vehicles.
“In terms of our election preparedness, we have reached the final stage before commencement. As we speak, all our sensitive and non-sensitive election materials are either already en route to their designated Registration Area Centres or have already arrived.
“This indicates that we are fully prepared to proceed with a seamless, credible, and inclusive election tomorrow (Saturday) November 16, 2024.”
Similarly, the Chairman of the Intra-Party Advisory Council in the state, Olaoluwa Adesanya, stated that MC Oluomo had nothing to do with the election, adding that the engagement of commercial drivers by INEC was with certain agreement.
He said, “There is a difference between Oluomo and the political parties; you know that 17 political parties will be contesting the election and all of them will have their representatives who will monitor the materials to their respective destination. So, there is nothing concerning Oluomo and the Ondo governorship election.”
Preventing vote trading
Meanwhile, some civil society organisations that were in the state for the monitoring of the poll have called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to deploy officers to discourage vote trading.
The call came from the CDD Election Analysis Centre after a pre-poll press conference at Akure, the state capital.
While giving the CDD-EAC report, the Chairman of the organisation, Prof. Adele Jinadu, also noted that the analysis of the Ondo election had revealed the existence of threats that could not be ignored.
According to him, the state has its share of violent non-state actors such as cult groups, political thugs and criminal syndicates involved in kidnapping and armed robbery.
He said, “Preparation for the election has been coordinated by INEC, while our reports show that these duties have been carried out effectively. It is important that the organisation maintains proactive communication and make ample arrangements for effective logistics.
“INEC is not alone in the election architecture in Nigeria. Other agencies such as the EFCC and the ICPC also play key roles in ensuring that the election is conducted without the expected impact of vote trading.
“These organisations should deploy officers to check this practice which is a sad reflection of our approach to civic matter and does not portend for a strong democracy.”
“A security analysis of the Ondo election reveals the existence of a threat level that cannot be ignored. The state has its own share of violent non-state actors, such as cult groups, political thugs, and criminal syndicates involved in kidnapping and armed robbery.
“I’m in the rural areas; the prospect for farmer-herder conflict is also a significant concern. When this challenge spills over into the electoral period, politicians allegedly arm the actors to intimidate opponents and suppress voter turnout in the opposition stronghold.”
Jinadu further called on all institutions connected to the electoral process to ensure they were impartial and committed to conducting a free, fair, and credible election process.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, on Friday, said about 6,000 personnel of the corps would be on duty during the governorship poll.
The personnel, drawn from the South West states and Kogi State, were reportedly deployed across the 18 local government areas and to some strategic points and routes in the state.
Addressing journalists at the Ondo NSCDC Command headquarters in Akure, the Deputy Commandant General in charge of the governorship poll, Philip Ayuba, explained that the personnel that would be on duty were drawn from Special Female Squad, Counter-Terrorism Unit, Agro Rangers Unit, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Unit.
Other units that contributed 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.
The police boss 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.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, on Friday.
According to the statement, the IG 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 read in part, “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.”
In the statement, the police stated that adequate personnel had been deployed to all polling units.
