After
months of intense politicking and anxiety, the Ondo State governorship
election ended yesterday with Governor Segun Mimiko of the Labour Party
emerging victorious.
The announcement of the results by the
Independent National Electoral Commission began at 2:55am today and
ended at 4:30am when the process was discontinued. One of the INEC
officials told the gathering of electoral officials, party agents and
security agents that more declaration of the results would resume at
10am.
As of the time the announcement was
stopped, the results from 15 Local Government Areas had been announced.
The results clearly showed that Mimiko’s victory at the poll was all
but assured.
Out of the 15 LGAs, the LP candidate won
in 12 LGAS including Akoko South-East, Akoko North-East, Akoko
North-West and others. The Action Congress of Nigeria candidate, Mr.
Rotimi Akeredolu, won in two local government areas, while the Peoples
Democratic Party candidate, Olusola Oke, won in one.
ACN won in Akeredolu’s local government,
Owo, and Senator Ajayi Boroffice’s Akoko South West Local Government
Area. PDP won in Okitipupa Local Government Area.Results from three
local government council areas were not declared.
Mimiko started the day on a good note
winning his polling unit whereas the Action Congress of Nigeria
candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, lost his polling unit and ward to the
governor’s party.
Mimiko polled 348 votes at his Ondo Ward
7 Unit 20, while the PDP and the ACN scored 18 and 16 respectively.
Voters across Ondo trooped out to the streets after Mimiko’s victory in
his ward.
Akeredolu scored 139 in his Ward 5 Unit 6 in Owo, while Mimiko scored 144 votes, just as the PDP polled 35.
It was also gathered that the PDP lost
at the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley
Kuku’s polling unit, RCM Unit 2, Arogbo Ward1. The result showed that
the LP polled 97; PDP, 85; and ACN 16.
At Adumasi House, Unit 04, Ilepa Ward
II, Ikare, Akoko North-East Local Goverment Area, ACN had 82 votes with
the LP polling 100 and PDP, 60.
There was jubilation in Akure, Ondo and
Owo towns when news filtered in that the LP was leading in the results
announced at the various polling units in the state.
There were altercations between loyalists of LP and the ACN in some parts of Oka, Ikare and Akungba over the election results.
Some of the ACN members had accused the ruling LP of engaging in ballot stuffing in some areas.
Despite initial fears of voter apathy, there was a high turnout of voters in most parts of the state.
In Ondo-North Senatorial District of the
state, voters trooped out to polling centres amidst tight security by
the joint patrol team comprising army, police, civil defence and men of
the State Security Service.
As early as 6am, security agents were seen patrolling all major roads in the district.
Stern-looking security men mounted roadblocks and stopped vehicles from Okene, Benin and Abuja at the Ondo State borders.
Helicopters of the Nigeria Police Force
and the Nigerian Air Force kept the state under surveillance during the
period of voting.
In Oka, Ikare, Arigidi, Akungba and
other communities in the Ondo-North Senatorial District, voters were at
polling centres as early as 6:30am.
By 7am, electoral officers were at the polling stations awaiting materials from INEC officials.
Accreditation began in some of the units
at exactly 8am while it was delayed in others areas till about 9a.m, as
a result of logistics.
In Unit 8, Ward 6, Ayegunle via
Oka-Akoko, voters were already being accredited as of 8am, with agents
of the PDP, LP and ACN present.
At Unit O4 Ward II, palace ward, CAC and
others in Ikare, young and elderly men, women and youths jostled for
accreditation and voting.
The Supervisory Presiding Officer in
Ikare, Mr. Oladele Adebisi, expressed deep concern that some of the
presiding officers recruited for the exercise did not turn up.
He said, “We are happy that the people
are complying, and we are working hard to meet up with time and finish
with accreditation on schedule.
“The only challenge we have is shortage
of hands in some units. So now I am looking for more hands for units
where there are more people.
“There is supposed to be an Assistant
Polling Officer with one APO I and II, two each in each unit. But some
of those billed to work are not available.”
The Ofua of Ikareland, Chief Alfred Omotola, described the turnout of voters as impressive.
He said, “We are peace-loving people. We
are orderly here. There is no problem at all. I have come here to do my
accreditation, and I have been accredited.
“No one will be forced to vote for a party when voting begins. Everyone will vote for a party of his or her choice.”
In some polling units, security agents were seen screening voters before being allowed to queue up for voting.
In Unit 10, Ward 5, where Boroffice
registered, two regular policewomen were on ground, but the senator
complained about inadequate security personnel in his unit.
He expressed fears of possible
disruption of the exercise as some unnamed persons had earlier
threatened to disrupt the exercise.
However, he said a detachment of
soldiers on guard about 500 meters away from the booth had assured the
people of adequate security of their votes.
In Ugbo, stern-looking and heavily armed soldiers appeared to be in a show of power with the police.
A police detachment was refused passage by armed soldiers, who barred motorists from moving before 5pm.
Entreaties by the leader of the police
detachment to the soldiers fell on deaf ears as the soldiers only
allowed journalists passage after proper identification.
The police detachment had to stay in the queue like civilians while bemused members of the public watched the scene.
Police siren-blaring vehicles were warned by soldiers at checkpoints.
Some residents, who defied the movement restriction order, were made to jump along the road by the soldiers.
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