All is now set for the Ondo State governorship poll scheduled for tomorrow, November 16. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has assured the people of the state and indeed all Nigerians that the agency is ready for a hitch-free poll. And we have no cause to doubt the sincerity of the electoral umpire to deliver a credible poll in Ondo State. Also, all the political parties billed to participate in the off-cycle exercise are already set having campaigned and marketed their candidates and programmes in the 18 local government areas across the state.
Although about 18 political parties will participate in the off-season poll, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are apparently the major contenders. Similarly, all the candidates of the participating political parties have signed the peace accord. Consequently, the Chairman of the National Peace Committee (NPC) and former head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar, has enjoined the party leaders and their candidates to accept its outcome provided that it is adjudged to be free, fair and credible. However, he urged aggrieved parties to use peaceful means to seek redress.
INEC has assured the people of Ondo State that it will conduct a free, fair and credible election. The commission has mobilized over 17,000 ad hoc and regular staff as well as electoral materials to the voting and collation centres in the state. In the same vein, sensitive election materials have been moved to Akure, the state capital. The delivery of the materials marked a critical phase in the logistical preparation for the election.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun, has promised to deploy enough Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), trucks, patrol vehicles, buses for covert operations, ambulances, helicopters, drones and anti-riot equipment to complement the strength of the State Command. The Force has deployed 36,637 officers to ensure order and safety across the polling units, wards, and local government areas in the state. Not less than 8,500 personnel from the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency will help the police to provide security during the poll.
Since the Ondo gubernatorial poll is an off-cycle exercise, we urge the electoral agency to ensure that it is transparent and credible. There will be no excuses. The electoral umpire, the political parties, the candidates and their supporters must ensure that the election is peaceful and devoid of vote rigging and other electoral infractions usually associated with polls in the part of the world. We call on politicians to eschew violence, thuggery, vote-buying and the ‘do or die’ approach to politics and elections. The police and other security agencies deployed for the poll must nip in the bud any plan to foment trouble during the poll. They should be neutral and apolitical in carrying out their electoral duties. The police should also arrest electoral offenders and ensure that they are prosecuted.
The electoral umpire should use the Ondo election to redeem itself. The commission has performed so poorly in most recent elections. We want INEC to use the Ondo poll to show that it has learnt some useful lessons from past ones. Let there be no late arrival of electoral materials and officials. The police and other security agencies should be available to provide security for the voters, the electoral officials and others. INEC and its officials must be neutral in the conduct of the poll. Let the election results be timely transmitted. Let the votes count. The outcome of the election must reflect the wishes of the people of Ondo State. Anything short of this is unacceptable. There should be no margin for error. Therefore, all eyes are on INEC to do the needful. The electoral umpire should not fail the people of Ondo State.
In all, INEC must do everything within its powers to avoid the controversy that trailed the recent gubernatorial poll in Edo State. It can only do this by being truly independent and avoid undue interference from certain quarters. Let INEC and other stakeholders restore confidence and faith in the electoral system by ensuring that Ondo State governorship election is peaceful. Above all, the security agencies should prevent ballot box snatching, thuggery, rigging and manipulation of election results.