Ondo declares Friday work-free for local government elections  

The Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has declared Friday, 17 January 2025, as a work-free day to facilitate residents’ participation in the local government elections scheduled for Saturday.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, public servants were encouraged to use the opportunity to return to their communities to exercise their civic rights.

“The Ondo State Government has declared Friday, 17th of January, 2025, as a work-free day for public servants in the state to enable them to travel to their various communities to exercise their civic responsibilities,” the statement read.

Governor Aiyedatiwa also called on stakeholders to ensure that the elections are conducted in a peaceful and fair manner.

Meanwhile, the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) has assured citizens that the withdrawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the elections will not disrupt the process.

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The PDP, in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Leye Igbabo, announced its decision to pull out, citing a lack of confidence in ODIEC’s ability to conduct free and fair elections.

In a related development, the state police command has imposed restrictions on vehicular and motorcycle movement from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday to ensure a smooth election.

The governor urged all eligible voters to actively participate, emphasising the importance of local government elections in strengthening grassroots democracy.