There are indications that local government elections in the 18 local government areas and 33 Local Councils Development Areas might be postponed.
The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) had fixed February 17, as the date to conduct the polls.
Sources said the local elections might be postponed due to the death of former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
The source said burial activities of Akeredolu would commence on February 15, and end on February 23, when the former governor would be buried.
Besides the burial of Akeredolu, another source said incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa might also push for the postponement to enable his loyalists to emerge as candidates.
Primaries of the APC for the local government elections were conducted before the death of Akeredolu.
According to the source, “The party primary is April this year and the fear in Aiyedatiwa’s camp is that those candidates would not be loyal to him if they became local government chairmen.
“We are aware of plans to postpone the local government elections or a possibility of canceling the entire process.”
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The chairman of ODIEC, Joseph Igbekele Aremo, did not confirm whether the election would be postponed.
Aremo said the commission was working out something and that he would soon brief stakeholders in the state on the outcome.
The spokesman for the Ondo PDP, Kennedy Peretei, said the February 17th date was no longer feasible for the conduct of the polls.