Gov poll: Shettima, APC bigwigs storm Ondo, PDP campaigns for Ajayi

Vice President Kashim Shettima; National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje; Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Abdulrahman AbdulRasaq (Kwara), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti) and other stalwarts, chieftains of the APC, on Wednesday, stormed Akure, the Ondo State capital, to drum up support for the party’s candidate in Saturday’s election, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

The ‘mega’ rally, which held at the MKO Abiola Democracy Park, Akure, saw the party stalwarts call on the Ondo electorate to troop out en masse on Saturday to ensure that Aiyedatiwa is elected.

The rally featured Ganduje, supported by the governors present, officially handing the party’s flag to Aiyedatiwa and his running mate, Dr Olayide Adelami.

Addressing the crowd of supporters who converged on the park, Shettima held that if past leaders of the state like Adekunle Ajasin, Adebayo Adefarati and Rotimi Akeredolu were alive, they would vote for the APC and not those he regarded as “reactionary elements.”

He said, “In just a few days, you will have your chance to show the love you have for the governance of Lucky Aiyedatiwa. So I urge you to come out en masse and cast your vote for the APC. Your vote is your voice.

“I would have asked my friend and brother, His Excellency, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to go back home and wait for you to deliver the mandate for him. But, we need this moment to celebrate ahead of the election.

“I want to echo the sentiment made earlier by the Senate Majority Leader. If Adekunle Ajasin, Rotimi Akeredolu and Adebayo Adefarati were to be alive, would he have voted for the APC or the reactionary elements?”

Shortly after handing the party flag to Aiyedatiwa, Ganduje, in his remarks, declared that the APC governorship candidate was the right man for the job.

He said, “We are here to motivate you, but we found out that you are already motivated. We are also here to present our flag to the standard-bearer of our party for the governorship election of Ondo State.

“I want to urge Ondo people to get ready to vote massively for our candidate, the governor. By voting for him, you are voting for continuity, continuity in terms of progressive governance, provision of infrastructure, and social services to the people of Ondo State.

“So we are hopeful that, by Saturday, you will all come out and give us 18 over 18 votes. By voting for him, you are voting for unity and political uniformity in the South West geopolitical zone. By the grace of God, the state will be won by the APC.”

Earlier, the Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele said, “I greet you all on behalf of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Speaker and all of us in the National Assembly. I have only one question for you before I return to my seat.

“If former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Baba Adekunle Ajasin and Baba (Adebayo) Adefarati were to be alive today and we are going to hold this election, which party would they have asked you to vote for? So, I beg you in the name of God Almighty, Obafemi Awolowo, Ajasin and Akeredolu (to vote for APC) on Saturday.

“Remember that we have a new Lagos today because of the continuity in government. Never again should you allow people who will plunder the economy and treasury of this state once they take over.”

On his part, the Chairman of the Ondo APC Campaign Planning Committee and Governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urged the people of Ondo State to avoid fighting so as not to give the electoral umpire a reason to annul the election.

“When you troop out on Saturday, don’t fight anybody. Just stamp your thumb wherever you see the broom emblem on the ballot.

“We have boasted that we will defeat them outrightly,” he said.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo also boasted that Saturday’s election would be a clean sweep for the ruling party in all the state’s 18 local governments.

He said, “I don’t have much to say other than on Saturday, it will be ‘Operation One Direct.’ What did I say? We are not ready to do 16-2 or 15-3. It has to be 18-0 for Aiyedatiwa because we are all ‘Lucky.’

“Nobody in the history of Ondo State has ever scored 18-0. But Lucky Aiyedatiwa will deliver 18-0.”

But the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party rejected being described as a reactionary political party.

The main opposition party, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Kennedy Peretei, stated this in reaction to the statement credited to Vice President Kashim Shettima, during the grand finale of the APC campaign, where he described the PDP and other opposition parties as reactionary parties.

He said, “The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its leadership personify everything that is reactionary. Those who called themselves progressives in the first or Second Republic made life affordable and enjoyable as against what the APC stands for pain and frustration.

“Nigerians remember the 16 years of the PDP in the saddle with nostalgia. Let Tinubu fix our collapsing economy and infrastructure instead of worrying about the PDP.”

Ondo REC stays

Meanwhile, amid calls by the PDP for the redeployment of the Ondo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, INEC has insisted that Babalola would conduct Saturday’s poll.

Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, defended the commission’s stance, saying it had found no substantiated evidence to support the claims against her, dismissing them as unfounded.

“Neutrality in the political arena is not new to Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola. She was deployed to Ondo State almost a year ago and nobody has ever accused her of hobnobbing with any political party. So, why are these allegations suddenly coming at this time when we have an off-season governorship election to conduct?

“To make it worse, all the allegations levelled against her so far have not been substantiated. Not one proof. She will not be redeployed. She will conduct the election.

“During her screening at the National Assembly, nobody raised any allegation that she was a card-carrying member or sympathiser of any political party,” Oyekanmi said.

Addressing the PDP’s broader accusations that Babalola may be biased in favour of the APC, Oyekanmi called on the party to present credible evidence.

“The onus is on the PDP to provide compelling proof. So far, they haven’t provided any,” he said.

He refuted claims that Babalola was an indigene of Ondo State or that she had long standing political affiliations, pointing out that she graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University over 34 years ago, long before the current political parties existed.

Materials distribution begins

Distribution of sensitive materials for Saturday’s election begins today. The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, stated this during the inspection of materials at the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Akure, on Wednesday.

According to the REC, the reason for the inspection of the sensitive materials was to show transparency of the commission to the stakeholders, in the preparation of the forthcoming poll.

Babalola noted that showing the stakeholders that the sensitive materials were still sealed and not tampered with would that the commission was determined to deliver a free, fair and credible election.

She said, “We have our schedule for distribution of materials. We received the materials on Monday, we scheduled Wednesday for the inspection of the materials, the distribution is going to be on Thursday.

“The reason we invited critical stakeholders such as security officers, political parties, observers, and media, among others to this inspection is to show transparency of all the sensitive materials as they were received. You could see that they were well-wrapped, nobody had tampered with them.

“When we come tomorrow (Thursday) for distribution, we will open their local government by local governments, give them to the electoral officers, we will start with the most far LG so that they can get to their council area on time. When they get to the LG, they will start distributing to Registration Areas and Polling Units.”

Representatives of the participating political parties, the Civil Society Organisations, the media and officials of the commission were present at the event.

PDP govs campaign

The Peoples Democratic Party holds its final campaign rally today ahead of the election.

It was gathered that the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, and other PDP governors, as well as other state and national leaders of the party, would be in attendance.

A statement issued by the Secretary, Ondo National Campaign Council, Princess Bunmi Oguntibeju, made this known.

The statement read, “The Chairman of the Ondo State National Campaign Council, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, Governor of Osun State welcomes the Acting National Chairman of our Great Party, HE Amb Iliya Damagum, all former presidents and vice presidents who are still members of our party, the leader of our party in the South-West, Engr. Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State, other PDP Governors, members of the National Executive Committee, other members of the NWC, members of the National Assembly, leaders and members of our Party in the South West Region, to the Ondo State Campaign Grand Rally.

“The rally will be held on Thursday, 14th November 2024 at noon.  The venue is Democracy Park, Along Oba Adesida Road, Akure, Ondo State.

“Come, let’s free Ondo State from the failed, corrupt and inept administration of the All Progressives Congress.”

Policemen deployment commences

Officers of the Nigeria Police Force have started arriving in the state for the forthcoming off-cycle election.

The Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, at the last stakeholders’ peace accord meeting with candidates of political parties in Akure, said a total of 34,657 personnel would be deployed, to maintain peace before during and after the November 16 poll.

The IGP, who was represented at the event, by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr Sylvester Alabi said, “A detailed operation order for the election has been prepared with adequate police personnel to be deployed. The Nigeria Police will deploy a total of 34,657 personnel to the polling units, wards/LGA collation centres as well as other strategic locations.

“It is expected that four police personnel will be deployed at each polling unit, which then implies that 15,732 conventional police personnel will be required for the 3,933 polling units and voting points in the state.”

In some areas of Akure visited it could be observed that more security personnel have arrived in the town.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the development but noted that not all personnel had arrived.

“Yes, they (policemen) have been coming in since yesterday (Tuesday), but not all of them have come. Today, the mobile policemen have arrived, and more personnel will be coming in from Thursday,” the PPRO stated.

APC, PDP clash

No fewer than six persons were injured when suspected political thugs clashed in Idanre in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State on Wednesday.

It was gathered that the clash occurred between members of the APC and those of the PDP in the local government.

A source in the town said the victims had been taken to the intensive care unit of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital Specialist Hospital in Akure, the state capital, for medical treatment.

The Director of Media and Publicity of PDP, Mr Adeyemi Fasoranti, alleged that the attackers were APC thugs who unleashed terror on the people because of the success of the rally of the opposition party, on Tuesday.

Fasoranti alleged, “The thugs with firearms boasted of killing as many as they could before and during elections. They said nobody would arrest them for any crime they committed.”

Similarly, another chieftain of the PDP Bosede Salami said the lives of PDP members were being threatened by suspected political thugs and cultists invited by political gladiators in the town.

“We wish to use this opportunity to remind the sponsors of these violent acts that elections should not be treated as a war. If you are confident in your party’s ability to win Idanre, there is no need to resort to thuggery or violence against the electorate.”

In a reaction, the chairman of the APC Mr Ade Adetimehim denied the allegation saying he did not receive any report that his members were involved in any attack.

“Our party is decent and we don’t breed thugs, so what they are alleging is a big lie to tarnish our image. Don’t believe them. We don’t have time for thuggery’ our focus is Saturday’s election.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami in a statement said the command commenced an investigation into the incident.

The statement read, “The Ondo State Police Command has intensified efforts in addressing the Idanre rivalry incident, which has surfaced amidst preparations for the 2024 Ondo State governorship election. In light of recent developments, the Commissioner of Police, CP Abayomi Peter Oladipo, has directed the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) to launch a full-scale investigation into the matter.

“It is important to note that CP Oladipo had previously convened a peace meeting on November 12, 2024, bringing together leaders of the two major political parties in the area. During the meeting, he urged them to maintain peace and take all necessary precautions to prevent their supporters from inciting violence. Despite these efforts, however, disturbances erupted overnight, resulting in shootings and a breakdown of public order.

“The case, which has escalated into violence and attempted murder, is currently under investigation to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that peace is restored in the area, particularly at such a critical juncture in the state’s history. The CP has made it clear that the command will exercise zero tolerance towards any individual or group, whether directly or indirectly involved, who engages in or permits actions that could disrupt the peace before, during, or after the election.

Delist Aiyedatiwa – NNPP

The candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Gbenga Edema, has approached the Federal High Court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his running mate Dr Olayide Adelami from the list of the candidates that would contest the poll on Saturday.

Edema also asked the court to interpret the application of Section 15 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) over the nomination of the APC candidate.