By Straightnews
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uploaded 95.32% of the results from the Ondo State governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal.
Results from 3,749 polling unit out of 3,933 where the election took place have been made available online as of 8:34 pm on Saturday.
Though 18 political parties participated in the election, incumbent governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and former deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi are seen as the main contenders.
While Aiyedatiwa ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajayi ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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Both men have something in common which is the fact that they both served as deputy governors of the state in the administration of late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who passed on late last year. Upon his death, Aiyedatiwa was sworn in to take the reins of leadership in the Sunshine State.
The election was reported to be generally peaceful, with voting ending in some parts of the state around 2:30 pm which made way for sorting and counting of votes.
The election began around 8 am in the 3,933 polling units of the South-West state. Materials for the exercise arrived in some places as early as 6 am with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ramping up preparations for the poll.
Meanwhile, All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi, of the Peoples Democratic Party, battle for the Government House in the state (Alagbaka House) Saturday.
All hands have been on deck with the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps raising the level of their preparation for the Saturday governorship election.
No fewer than 17 political parties were cleared by INEC to participate in the exercise with 1,793,914 voters set to decide the fate of the candidates.
Sequel to the promise of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to deploy over 22,000 men and officers to the state for effective security of lives and property, security operatives are already on the ground.
They were sighted at various locations in Akure, the state capital, Odigbo, Ondo Town, Okipupa, Irele, Ikare, Igbokoda and other towns and villages across the state.
The anxiety seems to be more in the southern senatorial district of the state where 16 of the 17 governorship candidates hailed from.
IG deploys policemen
In a related development, the IG has ordered the deployment of Commissioners of Police in the 18 LGAs of Ondo State for the governorship election.
The police boss said the development was part of the preparation for the off-cycle election, noting that the force had geared up its preparations and strategies, reinforcing adequate security measures to ensure a smooth run of the electoral process.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, on Friday.
According to the statement, the IG warned troublemakers to steer clear of the election, saying the police would deal with anybody caught causing the breakdown of law and order during the exercise.
The statement read in part, “Local, unauthorised and quasi-security agencies are once again warned to steer clear, as violators will experience severe consequences and face the full wrath of the law.
“Restrictions of movement on the day of the election from 6 a.m. till 6 p.m. still remains valid, as members of the public are advised to make adequate preparations to this effect.”
In the statement, the police stated that adequate personnel had been deployed to all polling units.
