Last weekend’s off-cycle governorship in Ondo State has been won and lost. The contest for votes was fierce in some places such as Idanre Local Government Area, while the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had a smooth sail in other areas, particularly Ondo North Senatorial District. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI, who monitored the election, reports
The drive from the Ondo State capital, Akure to Idanre, located at the foot of the Idanre Hills, a cluster of hills, lasted about 45 minutes. As the car approached the outskirts of the town, extensive rock formations loomed on the horizon; revealing a breathtaking landscape.
Nature has sufficiently endowed the town and its environs. The delightful natural landscapes have earned it a place on the global tourist map, following its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Tentative List) on October 8, 2007.
Idanre, the headquarters of the Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State, is made up of three localities: Atosin, Alade, and Odode or Ode Idanre. The major township has more land area and population.
Those familiar with Ondo State politics predicted before penultimate Saturday’s governorship election that Idanre, which had hitherto been a stronghold of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was going to be a battleground for the two major parties, the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC). This was against its performance in previous elections in the area. Besides, the PDP deputy governorship candidate in the election, Festus Akingbaso hails from Alade-Idanre, one of the two smaller suburbs of the town. Akingbaso currently represents the Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency at the National Assembly. He was expected to deliver the local government for his party.
Similarly, the APC was also counting on its chairman, Ade Adetimehin who equally hails from the council area to swing the victory in favour of the party. It was evident last Saturday that the election was keenly contested in the council area. The APC defeated the main opposition party by scoring 9114 votes. The PDP trailed closely behind with 8940 votes.
There was a significant improvement in logistics management on the part of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for the off-cycle governorship election, with the early arrival of polling officials to their duty posts. By 7.30 am, almost every polling station in the area was already a beehive of activities. INEC officials were protected by at least four policemen per unit. The presence of security operatives who set checkpoints at strategic areas in the town gave people the confidence to come out and vote.
By 8:30 a.m., many polling units had commenced accreditation and voting. Residents queued up patiently waiting for their turn to be accredited. The election process appeared relatively orderly and peaceful, demonstrating the residents’ determination to choose their governor for the next four years.
However, there were complaints in some units about the slow pace of accreditation. This was attributed to the operation of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), the device used to authenticate voter’s identity. At one of such units, a prospective voter, Osedele Olaniyan was complaining loudly that the INEC ad-hoc officials should do something to ensure that some of those who turned out to vote are not disenfranchised.
He told our reporter: “We discovered that the woman saddled with the responsibility of handling the device is not doing it well and the youth corper is more familiar with the operations of the device. But, for inexplicable reasons, they do not want to accede to our requests for him to take over. We are making this request because of people queuing up in the sun. Otherwise, this unit is very peaceful; there is no problem.”
The election was characterised by vote buying. The two major political parties were said to have offered at least N10,000 per voter to those who voted for them. Though cash did not exchange hands openly, some people were grumbling openly, in cases where some parties offered them less than what other parties gave their supporters.
However, at Polling Unit 10, Ward 6, Irowo-Idanre, one voter protested openly that he would not accept cash to vote against his conscience. Nevertheless, he refused to speak to our reporter after he voted.
The competition for votes was particularly intense at Polling Unit 1, Ward 7, Isalu-Idanre, where Senator Ayo Akinyelure voted. The former federal lawmaker represented the Ondo Central Senatorial District from 2011 to 2015 on the Labour Party (LP) and again from 2019 to 2023 on the platform of the PDP. Attempts by some residents to canvass for votes on the queue at the unit, which has 887 registered voters, caused quite a stir, with PDP Collation Agent, Idowu Ademoye insisting that it should be discontinued because the period for the campaign had elapsed. He said: “We are imploring them to stop; the time for it has elapsed. Otherwise, it may lead to commotion.”
Akinyelure, now a card-carrying member of the APC, could not deliver the unit for his new party. According to results declared at the unit, the PDP scored 119 votes, while the APC secured 65 votes. Similarly, at the Polling Unit 2, Ward 7, next to the senator’s, the PDP also won with 105 votes, while the APC scored 54 votes.
The atmosphere during the sorting and counting of votes at Akingbaso’s unit is also worth mentioning. Based on the information made available by supporters of the PDP deputy governorship candidate, the process took place amidst apprehension and fear of being attacked by supporters of the ruling party. This was predicated on reports of ballot boxes being snatched at neighbouring communities in the local government. The PDP supporters at the unit said the area had been surrounded by thugs who were determined to cart away the unit’s ballot box. It took the intervention of policemen on patrol to calm frailed nerves. The roving policemen came to the unit and fired gunshots into the air in an attempt to scare off the suspected hoodlums who were believed to be hiding in the bushes in the neighbourhood.
The running mate to Agboola Ajayi had expressed fears after voting at about 8.30 am over what he described as the resolve of the ruling party to compromise the election. He had accused the APC of sending thugs to disrupt the process in several polling units in other neighbourhoods in Idanre. He told our reporter: “At the moment, it is too early to conclude. Based on what is happening here, the process is proceeding normally, apart from the BVAS which is working very slowly. However, I am getting reports from other neighbourhoods that suggest that things are not going well because of the activities of hooligans that the APC has been sending to disrupt the process.”
Akingbaso said six persons were shot by thugs three days before the election and that the incident was reported to the Ondo State Commissioner of Police. He eventually delivered the unit for the party with a landslide victory, scoring 187 votes. The APC secured 46 votes at the unit.
Contrary to claims by the PDP running mate, some elderly residents of Idanre hailed the conduct of the election in the town, saying it was more peaceful, compared to that of four years ago. For instance, Olubayode Agballa, 66, said people came out happily this time to exercise their franchise, unlike four years ago “when thugs came to disrupt the process and it discouraged many people from coming out to vote”. Agballa who spoke to our reporter in Yoruba added: “It was only the thugs and their associates that cast the votes that were counted at the end of the day; others were driven away from the polling arena.”
Similarly, Femi Akinseye, 54, equally praised the conduct of the election. Akinseye who is wheelchair-bound, however, indicated that the turnout was not as much as that of four years ago when the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu secured his second term mandate. But insists: “It must be because new units were created and other residents must have been moved to the new units. We used to have 11 units in our ward; now it has been increased to 19.”
