• 24.8% of electorate participated in election
• Parties vote as much as N64m ‘logistics’ per polling unit
• Aiyedatiwa dedicates victory to Akeredolu
• PDP rejects result, says election was a sham
• Yiaga Africa, Adewole condemn vote buying
• Osun, Oyo our next targets, says Ganduje
• BTO political family hails Tunji-Ojo for record votes

Nearly a year after Lucky Aiyedatiwa mounted the saddle as the governor of Ondo State, following the demise of his boss, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the helmsman of the sunshine state was declared winner of Saturday’s Ondo governorship election after a complete rout of his 17 challengers in all the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) to begin his first substantive term in office.

The highest a candidate had fared in the state before now was in 2020 when Akeredolu won with 15 LGAs.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate polled 366,781 votes, pushing his closest rival and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Agboola Ajayi, to a distant second with 117,845, leaving an unprecedented margin of 248,936 votes between them, while the candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Ayodeji Akinnodi, finished with a paltry 4,138 votes.

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olorunfemi Ayodele Festus, who was declared winner of the party’s primary on the eve of the election could only gather 1,162 votes to emerge fourth in an election described as peaceful by observes, but marred by vote-buying, suggesting that the highest bidder won the election.

The election also recorded an unprecedented low turn-out of voters, recording 24.8 per cent against 31.6 per cent recorded in 2020.

Declaring Aiyedatiwa winner of the election at exactly 2.31 p.m., the State Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Olayemi Rotimi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State, disclosed 508,963 as total votes cast while 11,886 votes were rejected. Out of the 497,077 valid votes cast, Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes representing 73.8 per cent.

The Guardian’s checks revealed that out of the 2,053,061 registered voters in the state, 1,757,205 collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), while only 508,963 voters turned up at the poll. Ondo State’s population as of 2022 was 5.3 million.

The total votes of the other 16 political parties that participated in the election are as follows: Accord Party (A), 186 votes; Action Alliance (AA), 58 votes; African Action Congress (AAC), 304 votes; African Democratic Congress (ADC), 4138 votes; ADP, 1522 votes; APGA, 623 votes; APM, 162 votes; and APP, 83 votes.

Others are LP, 1162 votes; NNPP, 206 votes; NRM, 298 votes; PRP, 229 votes; SDP, 438 votes; YPP, 216 votes; and ZLP, 2692 votes.

Aiyedatiwa, who hails from Obenla, Ilaje Local Council Area, in the Southern Senatorial District of the state, won overwhelmingly across the three senatorial districts.

He also won convincingly in his local government of Ilaje with 24,474 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, who got 3,632 votes. Ajayi failed to win his local government of Ese-Odo after polling 7,814 votes against Aiyedatiwa, who swept the council with 14,511 votes. Also, the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Olugbenga Edema, who is from Ilaje LGA was able to secure only 87 votes.

Aiyedatiwa has now joined the class of deputy governors who succeeded their governors before the end of their term and went ahead to win a substantive election. The class included Patrick Yakowa (Kaduna State), Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo State), and Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe State).

Aiyedatiwa, who dedicated the victory to his late boss, Akeredolu, called on the opposition to collaborate with him in the governance of the state as he promised to run an inclusive government while prioritising the welfare of Ondo citizens.

In his acceptance speech, Aiyedatiwa said: “Now that the elections are over, it is time to rededicate ourselves to the service of our dear state. I, therefore, want to extend a hand of fellowship to the opposition parties and invite you to collaborate with us in the onerous task of building a better Ondo State for the overall good of our people. Let us put aside our differences and work together to create a brighter future for ourselves, our children, and our communities.”

Aiyedatiwa said he accepted the results of the elections, noting that he was greatly humbled and honoured by the renewed mandate given to him to continue in office as governor, promising to justify the trust reposed in him.

MEANWHILE, President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, urged candidates who are dissatisfied with the outcome of the election to explore the opportunities provided by the country’s judicial system to seek redress in areas of conflict. Congratulating the winner of the poll, Tinubu also commended INEC on the peaceful conduct of the process.

The President, who described the Ondo election as a litmus test of the capacity of INEC, affirmed that the electoral umpire justified the confidence of the people with early preparations, deployment of staff and materials, and handling of the electoral process.

Also congratulating the other candidates of the 17 political parties for the maturity demonstrated during the campaigns and the election, President Tinubu attributed the success of the exercise to the civility in the state. He enjoined the political actors to allow their orderly conduct to permeate the post-election activities and processes.

HOWEVER, an election monitoring group, Yiaga Africa, has condemned the incidences of vote buying that characterised Saturday’s election while noting that multiple factors led to the low voter turnout. They listed the factors, which include a lack of trust in the electoral process, quality of leadership, and economic and security realities.

Yiaga Africa’s data put the turnout between 24 and 27 per cent. The body said the organisation had projected low voter turnout in its pre-election analysis due to these factors, just as it was conducting a study to determine the actual factors contributing to the reduced turnout.

Addressing newsmen in Akure, the group described vote trading as a major threat to the credibility of the electoral process. Yiaga’s chairman, Ezenwa Nwagwu, and Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, lamented that vote buying promotes electoral corruption.

“Yiaga Africa calls on political parties to refrain from the culture of commercialisation of elections in Nigeria and instead invest in practices that enhance trust in the electoral process.”

The election monitoring group also charged INEC to take “deliberate steps to protect the secrecy of the ballot and enforce its electoral guidelines, especially those related to the secrecy of the ballot.”

Yiaga Africa also stated that election offenders arrested during the Ondo election “should be handed over to the police for due prosecution.”

Efforts to get a reaction from the governorship campaign director of PDP, Eddy Olafeso, failed as he refused to comment. He said, “I have no comment now until I speak with my team.”

PDP has alleged that Saturday’s election was the worst conducted by INEC. It claimed the poll ran short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair and credible election as it witnessed the height of electoral swindling, deceit and manipulation by the APC.

In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP claimed that “this election witnessed widespread election merchandising, monetisation and barefaced vote buying by the APC and its apparatus in government to suppress the genuine aspiration of the people. This devious practice by the APC was rampant and pervasive because the APC have utterly impoverished Nigerians and turned poverty into a weapon of mass subjugation which enabled it to manipulate the election and its outcome.”

This is as ex-National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, has raised the alarm that the Acting National Chairman of PDP, Umar Ilyasu Damagum, will extinguish life out of the opposition party unless the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for November 28 elects a substantive National Chairman from the North Central as directed by Section 47 (6) of the party’s Constitution (2017 Amendment).

Ologbondiyan, who stated this while interfacing with the G12-Renaissance Group of the PDP in Abuja, on Sunday, said the consistent losses of the party in the off-season elections reflected the dismal performance of Damagum.

Expressing concern at the party’s loss in Saturday’s election, Ologbondiyan insisted that if a substantive National Chairman is not restored for the party, successive off-season elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun may suffer the fate of Kogi, Imo and Ondo states. “It is reprehensible that the Acting National Chairman is supervising the dishevelling of the party,” he added.

However, The Guardian investigation revealed that apart from vote-buying that twisted the outcome in favour of the highest bidder, the internal crisis within the PDP also worked against its candidate.

While the ruling APC was able to resolve its post-primary crisis and bring together all its aspirants to work for Aiyedatiwa, a gale of defection rocked the PDP and many of its chieftains defected to the APC on the excuse that “PDP was not ready to win the election.”

Sensing that a divided house might cost the party victory at the poll, APC aspirants such as Olusola Oke (SAN), Wale Akinterinwa, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, and Mayowa Akinfolarin, who were tipped to win the ticket if the late former governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, had not died, were quickly appeased to sheath their swords for the sake of the party.

However, APC capitalised on the internal wrangling within the opposition party to decimate the PDP’s governorship candidate who is known to be a grassroots politician with unmatched political experience.

To achieve the feat, APC poached PDP bigwigs, with almost nothing left for the opposition party in the build-up to the election. The ruling party began its chess moves from the very top of the party’s leadership.

After a series of humiliations and lack of proper recognition within the PDP in the state, APC poached former Governor Olusegun Mimiko whose members openly declared support for Aiyedatiwa.

Among Mimiko’s loyalists who dumped the PDP were Joseph Akinlaja (former House of Representatives member), Jumoke Akindele (former Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly), Ebenezer Alabi (former PDP Chairman, Ondo State), Gboye Adegbenro (former Commissioner for Works), Kolade Akinjo (former House of Representatives member), Gboluga Ikengboju (former House of Representatives member), Jide Adejuyigbe (former Commissioner for Education), and Eni Akinsola (former Chief Press Secretary to ex-Governor Mimiko).

Others include, Chief Alaba Lad Ojomo Tunde Atere, Ajani Oladipo, Funmilola Oluwadare, Solomon Adelegan, Femi Bosede, Yele Ogundipe, Com Dayo Akinte, Dr. Dapo Iwala, Femi Ofakunrin, Olumide Olugbebi, Omowumi George, Gbenga Aro, Rauf Ogunsola, Taiye Afilaka, Adetimehin Jacob, Felix Kehinde, Babatunde Sobande, Idowu Ogunmade, Olanrewaju Longe, and Abiodun Temenu.

Akinlaja, who led the defectors, had said, “The fact that the PDP as currently run is not being positioned for victory either at the state level or at the national level makes our decision most auspicious at this moment.”

Another major factor that aided the victory of APC was the crisis that hit the PDP fold in the state following the constitution of the campaign council.

The party had disagreed with its governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi, for not carrying the party along in the appointment of those who will serve in the campaign council.

Ajayi, through his spokesperson, Samuel Ogunmusi announced the former National Vice Chairman (South West) of the party, Eddy Olafeso, as the chairman of his campaign council.

Ogunmusi added that the former chairman of the party in the state, Clement Faboyede, has been appointed as the Director General of the Campaign Council, while John Ola-Mafo will serve as Director General (Special Duties) and Deji Aseniserare, Secretary of the Campaign Council.

While kicking against the development, the publicity secretary of the party, Kennedy Peretei, described the action of Ajayi as embarrassing, which he stressed contradicted the party’s constitution.

Peretei, who was against the development fumed that, “The announcement by one Samuel Ogunmusi appointing persons to coordinate the campaigns of Agboola Ajayi for the November election is not only embarrassing but a violation of the PDP Constitution (2017 as amended).

“Articles 46(1) and 40(1)(a)(b) and (c) do not permit such announcements coming from individuals not known to the party. To such an extent, all the supposed announcements are null, void, and of no effect.

“Our party is an organised party guided by the rule of law. At the appropriate time, appointments for the Local Campaign Council will be made public.”

Similarly, the PDP chairman in the state, Bakita Bello, was said to have been passive almost all through the campaign activities of the party’s standard-bearer.

An inside source in the PDP disclosed that most members were not pleased with the manner in which Ajayi coordinated activities without recourse to the party.

For APC, the presidency, Southern and Southwest governorship forums and other leaders of the party from the northern region waded in to calm frayed nerves, especially those who were angered with the way Aiyedatiwa emerged from the primary.

It was specifically mentioned that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, who allegedly moved to Ondo State about three days before the election, met one-on-one with the majority of those who lost in the primary to Aiyedatiwa and pleaded with them.

Besides, seven APC governors were in Ondo State to give solidarity support to Aiyedatiwa. They include the governors of Lagos, Ogun, Borno, Imo, Kogi, Benue and Cross Rivers.

Ajayi never enjoyed such support except for the presence of Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ademola Adeleke (Osun) and a few others, whose weight could not be compared to that of APC governors as well as the backing of some federal government.

Though the election might have been adjudged to be the most peaceful ever conducted in the country with little or no skirmishes, there was an incidence of gunshot at Idanre, where PDP is strong and one arrest was made in Akure.

Besides that, the stakeholders commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the early arrival of voting materials and electoral officials, the election started on a clean note as the electorate patiently waited for them to arrive.

ALREADY, the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, has identified Osun and Oyo states as the party’s next target. Describing the governor as a sellable product, Ganduje appreciated President Tinubu for his support.

Addressing journalists in Akure after Aiyedatiwa was declared winner, Ganduje said: “This is democracy in action and what is more important is that all major stakeholders including INEC believe that the election was free, fair, and credible. Everybody believes that this election is credible, they elected APC for continuity and there will be no abandoned projects. Our next target is Osun, Oyo States and you know we are good at hitting our targets.”

Also, the BTO political family has expressed profound appreciation to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (BTO), for his outstanding contribution to the resounding victory of Aiyedatiwa.

Tunji-Ojo’s political influence was once again on full display as Akoko North West Local Government, his constituency, emerged with the highest votes for the APC, recording a remarkable 25,010 votes—an impressive 81.2% of the total votes cast in the local government. This landslide result played a pivotal role in securing Aiyedatiwa’s victory, further reinforcing the APC’s dominance in Ondo.

This is not the first time Tunji-Ojo has delivered such groundbreaking results. During the 2023 presidential election, Akoko North West also led the state in votes for the APC, significantly contributing to President Tinubu’s success. His consistency in mobilising grassroots support underscores his unparalleled dedication to the party’s growth and progress.

The BTO political family commends Tunji-Ojo’s commitment to the APC both at the state and national levels. His strategic leadership and deep connection with the people have set a standard for effective governance and political representation in Ondo.

The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has strongly criticised the Ondo election, labelling it a “victim-less crime” and a spectacle of willing buyers and sellers.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, he likened the election to a perfect market, suggesting that the Central Bank of Nigeria could learn from it in managing foreign exchange markets.

According to Adewole, the election was a smooth operation, akin to the Dutch Auction, where four years of governance were sold openly and freely. He claimed that the police, INEC, and media witnessed the entire process live, leaving no room for coercion or intimidation allegations.