The candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and that of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) are neck and neck in some of the results officially released in some polling units in the governorship election held in Ondo State Saturday.
Akeredolu and Jegede, both Senior Advocates, however, won their respective polling units just as the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Chief Olusola Oke also won in his Ugbo unit in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
Jegede and Akeredolu also expressed confidence that they would win the governorship election characterized by heavy inducement of voters. In many of the polling units, there was open sharing of money to the electorate while the law enforcement agents looked the other way.
In some cases, voters were given N6, 000 to vote for a particular candidate in the all the senatorial districts of the state.
There was allegation that some governors of the ruling APC were in the state to give support to the candidate of their political party. The governors according to sources included the chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Governors Simenon Lalong of Plateau, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, Yaya Bello of Kogi, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna and former governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi.
There was large turnout of voters in some areas including Owo, Akoko Northeast, Akoko Northwest, Akure South and Ondo West Local Government while there was peaceful conduct of the polls in places visited by Sunday Telegraph.
Akeredolu, who spoke after he cast his vote in Owo Polling Units, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to deploy its technicians to polling units where there are reported cases of card reader malfunction.
The APC candidate also urged the Commander of the Nigerian Army in Idanre town to call his men to order, alleging that he got reports that the officers are conniving with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig in the area.
