Ondo LG poll: APC promises fair play, denounces vote-buying

Ahead of the local government election in Ondo State, the ruling All Progressives Congress has declared that it is determined to win the poll.

PeterThe Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission has fixed Saturday, January 18, 2025, for the conduct of the poll which will take place across the 18 local government areas of the state.

Speaking with journalists on Monday, at the party secretariat, Akure, the state capital, on the preparation of the party ahead of the election, the Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr Alex Kalejaiye, said the party would not be involved in electoral malpractices to win the election.

According to him, the party had begun preparation for the election, and the party had picked credible and competent persons as its chairmanship and councilorship candidates for the election

He said, “In the last governorship election, nobody voted because of money, they voted for performance, popularity and for the peace. Those things influenced the decisions of the people. We were never involved in vote-buying but in performance.

“We are also counting on that right now that we know what we have done and what we are doing for the good people of Ondo State, they won’t have a problem with APC.

“We decided to set up committees at the local and ward levels to handle mobilisation, sensitisation and campaign, but we felt that might not be enough, there should be a coordinating fact, therefore a committee has also be put in place by the state level to coordinate the various activities that will be going on at the local government areas and at the ward levels.”

The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission has revealed that a total of 13 political parties will be participating in the forthcoming council election.

The commissioner in charge of Communication, Media and Information Technology of the commission, Mr Tunde Adeleye, stated this in a statement.

Adeleye in his statement noted, “At the end of the screening exercise that took place at the ODIEC Headquarters on Friday 27th, 2025, 13 political parties were cleared to take part in the election for the chairmanship position in the 18 Local Government Areas and councillorship position in the 203 wards of the state.”

The parties taking part in the election, according to the statement, include the Action Democratic Party, Action People’s Party, All Progressives Congress, All Progressive Grand Alliance, Boot Party and the Labour Party.

Others are the New Nigeria People Party, Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Young Progressive Party, Zenith Labour Party, Action Alliance and National Rescue Movement.