Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was, yesterday, declared the winner of Saturday’s governorship election held in Ondo State by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Mr Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his main rival, Mr Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who got 113,845 votes. Aiyedatiwa got the upper hand in all the 18 local councils.
While the total valid votes cast was 497,077, rejected votes were 11,886 out of 508, 963 votes cast. The registered number of voters was over 2 million, of which 1,793,914 voters collected their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs.
The other 15 parties performed poorly with all of them getting less than 14,000 votes.
An elated governor and governor-elect dedicated his victory to his late boss, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, and extended a hand of fellowship to opposition candidates to join him in the task of prioritising the welfare of Ondo people and ensuring the state remained a beacon of hope and prosperity.
Aiyedatiwa, in his acceptance speech, after he was declared winner of the election, promised “to run an inclusive and participatory government where every citizen has a voice and an opportunity to contribute to our collective progress.
“We will continue to prioritize the welfare of our people, foster economic growth, and ensure that our state remains a beacon of hope and prosperity for generations to come.”
Let’s work together, Aiyedatiwa tells opponents
“Now that the elections are over, it is time to re-dedicate ourselves to the service of our dear state. I, therefore, want to extend a hand of fellowship to the opposition parties and to invite you to collaborate with us in the onerous task of building a better Ondo State for the overall good of our people.
“Let us put aside our differences and work together to create a brighter future for ourselves, our children, and our communities.”
Besides, he said: “I dedicate this victory, first to the Almighty God and second, to the memories of our departed leader and former governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.”
The governor-elect said he felt greatly humbled and honoured by this renewed mandate given him to continue in office as governor.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude and I pledge to work tirelessly to justify the trust you have reposed in me,’’ he said.
The governor-elect commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for conducting a free, fair, and credible election; and the security agencies for being very professional in their assignment and maintaining peace throughout the exercise.
“I must appreciate President Bola Tinubu for providing exemplary leadership and also ensuring a level playing ground in the just concluded election,” he added.
However, the candidates of the PDP, Mr Agboola Ajayi, and that of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Mr Myson Nejo, have kicked against the election outcome, describing the exercise as daylight robbery.
Speaking on behalf of the PDP candidate, the party’s state collation agent, Olaniyi Ogungbuji, accused the APC of deploying over N35 billion to induce voters in the poll, alleging that voting didn’t take place at some polling units at Idanre LGA.
“I can tell you that APC, as a party, deployed over N35billion into inducing the electorate. And if this is the future of this nation, I think we are doomed,” he said, disclosing that Ajayi and the PDP would decide on the next line of action in the coming days.
“I will report back to him (Ajayi) and the party as well, they will take the next appropriate action in the next few days,” he said.
Also, Mr Myson Nejo of the ADC faulted the conduct of the election, saying it was characterised by vote-trading.
He said: “I thank the good people of Ondo State for voting for me without giving them any money, and they still voted for me. I want to believe that my vote is a valid vote because there was nothing like vote-buying or any unethical practices on my side. So far, I want to believe I’m a winner in this election.
“People were buying votes for N20,000 or N15,000, and in my polling unit, it was N10,000 to N15,000. But because I didn’t have money and I told them I wasn’t going to give even a kobo to buy votes, I ended up with only two votes in my unit and about 40 votes in total.
“But I don’t care. People were calling me, asking for money in exchange for their votes, but I stood my ground. If they want to vote, they should vote. I wasn’t going to give a kobo to buy votes.”
However, APC’s state agent, Ade Adeogun, dismissed the allegation of vote-buying, describing it as flippant excuses.
Adeogun said: “You need to understand that throughout this electioneering period, we even complained that Ondo State was over-policed. If they had any genuine evidence, they would have reported to the security agencies and those persons involved in vote-buying or any inducement would have been arrested.
“Without evidence, you can’t just go around and make flippant excuses. They lost an election. They lost woefully and they’re looking for a straw to hold on to.”
He said the opposition party should be allowed to ‘weep’ over the defeat, saying the party had a right to do so.
“It’s an allegation and when you go to court, he who alleges must prove. For you to prove, you must present cogent and verifiable reasons. If you have 10 political parties contesting and only one is complaining, you would understand that it’s a pain of loss that they’re still experiencing and we must give them that right to weep.”
The national hierarchy of the PDP said the Ondo poll was the worst conducted by the INEC so far.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement, said: “All lovers of democracy in Nigeria and across the world have just witnessed the worst election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“The November 16, 2024, governorship election in Ondo State runs short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair and credible election as it witnessed the height of electoral swindle, deceit and manipulation by the All Progressives Congress.
“This election witnessed widespread election merchandising, monetization and bare-faced vote buying by the APC and its apparatus in government to suppress the genuine aspiration of the people.
“This devious practice by the APC was rampant and pervasive because the APC has utterly impoverished Nigerians and turned poverty into a weapon of mass subjugation which enabled it to manipulate the election and its outcome.
“We call the attention of all Nigerians and the international community to this reprehensible practice by the APC as widely witnessed in the November 16, 2024, governorship election in Ondo State and we demand that a serious action be taken to stem such if Nigeria’s democracy must survive.
“In the meantime, the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP will be having a more detailed review of the election and its outcome and take appropriate action in defence of our democracy.”
