Anxiety in the 18 local government areas of Ondo State has reached fever pitch as the 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) today.
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.
Ilaje and Ese-Odo LGAs have the two leading candidates – Aiyedatiwa and Ajayi.
Residents of the zone, however, have divergent views on the candidates as some believe it is proper to vote for the candidates in their local government, while others say voting for candidates based on kinsmanship will not produce the governor for the state.
A resident of Akure, Oluseun Isaac, said he would vote according to his conscience and not whether the candidate was from his town or local government.
“I am from Ilaje, but I live in Akure. I am in my hometown to vote in the election. But I have to vote based on my conscience not because any of the candidates is from my local government.
“Such a system cannot move Nigeria forward. Democracy is about choosing anybody that suits you, not to be restricted to certain selected people,” Isaac stated.
Another resident of the state capital, who is an indigene of Okitipupa, Mrs Adeyemi Semiwo, commended the idea of picking the next governor of the state from Ondo South zone, saying the zone was behind in terms of development.
She said she would support any of the candidates as long as they all came from Ondo South zone.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
