There was late arrival of electoral materials in some areas, even in the state capital.
The candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Rotimi Akeredolu, in the Ondo State gubernatorial elections, Saturday, lost in his polling unit.
At his Owo, (Unit 6, Ward 5), polling unit, Mr. Akeredolu had 139 votes, ACPN – 3, BNPP -2, CPC -3, and PDP -35.
The polling unit was won by the Labour Party, LP, candidate and incumbent governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who had 144 votes.
Mr. Mimiko also won his own polling unit. He received 186 votes; ACN (Mr. Akeredolu) 8 votes, and PDP 5 votes.
However there is another polling unit (21) directly opposite Mr. Mimiko’s. A combination of the results from the two polling units gives a total of LP – 348, ACN – 16, and PDP – 11
Head to Head
Before casting their votes, both Mr. Mimiko and Mr. Akeredolu – two major candidates in the poll – said that they hoped to come out victorious.
While the state governor said that he looks forward to a landslide victory, Mr. Akeredolu told journalists that he “is sure of winning.”
Of the 1,126 registered voters at the governor’s ward, 413 were accredited to vote.
“The report that I’ve got from almost every location has shown that voters turn out have been decent,” said Mr. Mimiko, after he had cast his vote.
“In many places, voters turn out have almost been described as unprecedented.
“So far we haven’t had any reason to believe that this process will not be concluded fairly,” he added.
In Mr. Akeredolu’s ward, 378 voters were accredited at the unit out of a total registered 958 voters.
After casting his vote, Mr. Akeredolu raised concerns over the security development in Idanre.
Earlier in the day, there were claims of arrest of an LP chieftain and the state’s Commissioner for Special Duties, Niran Sule-Akinsuyi, who was allegedly in possession of cash and ammunition.
The police quickly refuted such claims.
“We are calling on security agents to do something about the area because we were told voters have been scared away in most of the 67 farms there,” Mr. Akeredolu said.
“I’m told the police said there was no arrest. That will be a blatant lie. Niran Sule was arrested. Except report was not made at the area command, our people were there when he was arrested.
“The police must handle this with care in order not to be seen as being in collusion with those who are involved in rigging,” Mr. Akeredolu added.
INEC’S challenges
There were complaints of late arrival of electoral material in some wards across the state.
At the Chief Magistrate court in Ayede Ogbese, a few kilometres from INEC office, materials arrived late.
“This is what is used to discourage people. I registered and I want to vote,” said a disgruntled voter, David Gabriel.
“Where I trekked from to come and vote is very far, once I leave, I’m not coming back,” Mr. Gabriel added.
By noon, electoral material were yet to arrive in some areas in Akure South.
The National Commissioner for INEC, South West, Lai Olurode, admitted that the challenges were part of perfecting the electoral process.
“Don’t forget, we have over 1.6 million voters in this election, there are 3007 polling units, so there’s no way you will want to carry out that kind of election on a large scale. There are bound to be challenges,” Prof. Olurode said.
“What is important is that they are not challenges that can mar the process of this election,” he added.
