- LP, ADC candidates congratulate governor, wish him well
The Independent National Electoral Commission will officially present certificates of return to Ondo State Governor-elect Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy on Wednesday.
The certificate will be issued at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, confirmed this on Monday.
He said, “The certificates of return will be presented by the commission to the governor-elect and his deputy on Wednesday.”
SDP rejects election results, demands cancellation
However, the Ondo State chapter of the Social Democratic Party has rejected the results of Saturday’s governorship election in the state, describing it as a “show of shame.”
Speaking with journalists on Monday in Akure, the state capital, the SDP chairman, Gbenga Akinbuli, denounced the election, alleging widespread harassment and intimidation of the party’s agents.
He also claimed that many voters were prevented from voting in several polling units, while vote buying was rampant throughout the exercise.
“Our legal team is already working on the outcome of the election,” Akinbuli stated, calling for the cancellation of the election results.
He said, “We sent our agents out. If one agent casts a vote at every polling unit, we should record nothing less than 2,000 votes. How come the results being sent to us reflect such low scores for our party? We reject it outright.
“Our agents arrived at polling units as early as 7 a.m., but they were intimidated and forced out. Voters were not allowed to come out. How can you register over two million voters and then claim less than 600,000 voted? It’s a disgrace to the government of the day. Many voters told me they were scared for their lives and couldn’t come out.
“Our legal team is working on this. We are demanding the immediate cancellation of the election. It was not an election; it was a buyer-and-seller competition.”
The SDP governorship candidate, Bamidele Akingboye, who polled 438 votes, also decried irregularities and malpractices during the election.
Akingboye alleged that SDP members were harassed and intimidated by political thugs in many polling units.
He said, “For the past month, I have been calling on the people of Ondo State to come out and vote. Last Saturday should have been the day Ondo freed itself from the slavery and hunger it has endured, but what I witnessed was shocking.
“In my unit in Okitipupa, Ward 2, Unit 10, they openly engaged in vote buying. I told them that, as a person of integrity, I would not participate in any unlawful acts. This election was marred with irregularities. I firmly believe the results were pre-written.
“There are videos trending online showing shocking incidents, including an elderly woman admitting she accepted money to vote. This is unacceptable.
“Our party will not condone illegality. My chairman has demanded the election’s cancellation, but I am asking to be declared the winner. People intended to vote for me, but our agents were chased out, and thuggery took over. I am the rightful winner of this election, and INEC must declare me as such.”
LP, ADC candidates congratulate governor, wish him well
In the same vein, the candidate of the Labour Party, Ayo Olorunfemi and his Africa Democratic Congress counterpart, Aderemi Nejo, have hailed Lucky Aiyedatiwa on his victory in the Ondo governorship election held over the weekend.
Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent governor of the state swept to victory in the just-concluded election, clearing all 18 local governments to seal a four-year term as the leader of the South West state.
Following the feat, Olorunfemi and Aderemi in separate statements said the governor’s victory was a reflection of the people’s wishes.
“Please accept my warm congratulations on your victory and my best wishes for your success as you prepare to take up the responsibilities and challenges of your high office,” the LP candidate said.
“As you embark upon your new responsibilities, I wish to assure you and the people of Ondo State of the continued friendship and sympathetic interest of our great party.
“I look forward to working with you not only to develop closer relations based on our shared values but also to concert our efforts in the cause of peace, development, and the brotherhood of our people,” he added.
For the ADC flagbearer who emerged third in the largely peaceful poll, the APC victory came in an election that was “conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022”.
“Today, the 17th day of November, 2024, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa was the winner of the Ondo State Governorship election held on Saturday the 16th day of November, 2024,” Aderemi wrote.
“Having reviewed the conduct of the election which was peaceful, despite the imperfections and pockets of challenges characteristic of any electoral process anywhere in the world, one cannot be left in doubt, as an objective participant in the process, that the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“Furthermore, and considering the towering imperative to prioritise the interest of the people of Ondo State over personal individual interest or ambition, I have in consultation with my supporters and party leaders and faithful, resolved to felicitate with the winner of the election, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, to wish him well and share in the joy of his victory.
“While we continue, as a candidate and as a party, to play our role as a viable opposition by holding the State Government under the leadership of Gov. Aiyedatiwa accountable for policies and actions taken in government, we wish him resounding success in office as he continues to govern the State till February 2025 when he shall take the oath of office to preside over the affairs of the State for another four years,” he noted.
The electoral commission declared Aiyedatiwa the winner after he secured a total of 366,781 votes, defeating the PDP’s Agboola Ajayi, who garnered 117,845 votes.
