IN a few hours, indigenes and residents of Ondo State will go to the poll to elect the governor that will pilot the affairs of the state for the next four years.
The election will take place in all the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
All stakeholders, including the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the police and its sister security agencies are already dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s to ensure a hitch-free and credible poll.
The two gladiators in the election are the incumbent Governor and candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Rotimi Akeredolu; and the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Eyitayo Jegede.
Also on ground in Ondo State are governors and leaders of the two parties, who have been having sleepless nights in the last one week, strategising on victory for their parties.
Political analysts and watchers of political events in the country are predicting a close race between Akeredolu and Jegede. They are also of the view that the Deputy Governor of the state and candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, Agboola Ajayi, may come a distant third.
Various candidates had criss-crossed the nooks and crannies of the state soliciting for votes in the last one month. The campaign stopped on Thursday and the candidates are eagerly expecting that the crowds that thronged their campaigns will result in huge votes.
With over 33,000 policemen, including the Mobile Police Force and three helicopters on ground, the head of police operation for Ondo election, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Leye Oyebade, has assured the electorate of their safety, urging them to turn out en masse and perform their civic responsibilities.
The three senatorial districts of the state, where election will hold are Ondo North, Ondo South and Ondo Central. Akeredolu is from Owo in the North district. Jegede, though from Akure, in the Central, has a link with Ipele, his maternal town, also in the North.
ONDO NORTH
It is expected that Akeredolu will garner high votes from Owo. Expectedly, Jegede will trail him. But the Akoko area of the district is up for grabs by the two candidates. Akoko has a very large population; whoever secures huge votes here may be nearer to the Ondo Governorship office.
ONDO CENTRAL
Ondo Central is the strong base of the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede. Jegede hails from Akure. The district is also historically a PDP stronghold. Jegede is expected to win in this zone. The Akure people, The Point was told, were mobilising for his emergence as governor because the city had not produced a governor since the creation of Ondo State in 1976.
ONDO SOUTH
This is a district that usually records high votes in every election.The ZLP candidate, Agboola Ajayi, is from the district, so also is the APC Deputy Governorship candidate and the PDP Governorship candidate. Expectedly, Ajayi will lead in this senatorial district, while both APC and the PDP may also record some votes.
However, most of those who spoke to The Point in Akure, Owo and Ondo, have said Nigerians might be in for a surprise in Saturday’s poll.
“The race appears so tight that even the supporters of the two main parties – PDP and APC – are not sure of what could happen. PDP appears to be very much on ground but so also is APC. Many of the governors are here from both sides. So it is going to be tough. It has never been this keen,” a political analyst, Dr. Adebayo Adeoti, told our correspondent.
When asked if Ajayi of ZLP had a chance, he said, “He was a threat some weeks back. Right now, many things are pointing to the fact that he is no more in the race, even though he has not formally announced his alignment with any party.”
