In the elections scheduled to take place today in all 18 local government areas of Ondo State, there will be a contest between 12 political parties for the chairmanship and councillor positions.
The last state election took place on August 23, 2020, with the election’s date of August 22, 2023 as the deadline for the appointment of the elected council officials.
Since then, the administration of the 18 council areas of the state has been managed by civil servants, specifically the Heads of Local Government Administrations.
However, after several postponements, the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission finally fixed January 18, 2025, for the conduct of the election.
Only 12 political parties will be able to vote in the election, despite the fact that they were vetted and approved for the poll.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) announced its intention to leave the election, saying it disapproved of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission’s ability to conduct a fair election.
The names of the 12 political parties contesting in the election include: Action Alliance, Action Democratic Party, Action People’s Party, All Progressives Congress, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Boot Party, and Labour Party.
Others include the National Rescue Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Social Democratic Party, Young Progressive Party, and Zenith Labour Party,
Dr. Joseph Aremo, the ODIEC chairman, assured the commission that the election would be run entirely.
He claimed that the commission had successfully staffed the election’s ad hoc staff.
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Aremo stated that the electoral body was working with relevant security organizations to achieve this by ensuring that the state’s residents, especially the voters, had adequate security.
Wilfred Afolabi, the state’s commissioner of police, warned that police would not hesitate to detain any violators who might want to cause violence during the election. He also stated that there would be sufficient police presence throughout the state.
To allow public servants who might want to travel to the election, the state government had made Friday, January 17th, 2025, a work-free day.
The state’s government had restrictions on movement at the time of filing this report between 6 am and 4 pm today.
As police officers are stationed strategically along the main roads to monitor vehicular movement, the situation in Akure is currently calm.
Source: Channels TV
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