Ahead of the November 16 governorship election in Ondo state, some All Progressives Congress (APC) groups, under the auspices of Ondo Patriots, have announced that they have commenced mobilisation in support of the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Otunba Benson Akingboye.

The Coordinator of the group, Comrade Dele Oyewo, in a petition titled, ‘Protest against Gov. Aiyedatiwa and the party approach’, which was addressed to the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, said the decision was informed by the “questionable” emergence of the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the candidate of the party.

The group noted that the national leadership of the party had taken side with Aiyedatiwa at the “shallow primaries” conducted in April 2024.

Parts of the petition read: “The leadership of the various organising groups within the party structure in the state for the umpteen time hereby re-emphasise that it is going to be almost impossible to work with the party and the governor on Nov. 16th gubernatorial election.

“But we discovered that the party leadership in Abuja is not in any way concerned about the wellbeing of citizens of Ondo state, rather they prefer their own choice of settlement over any form of resulting consequences.

“The voices of people in Ondo State – an appendages of the APC hereby condemn what it described as derailment and gross misconduct against the party ethics in line with the choice of Gov. Aiyedatiwa if truly we are different from PDP and that we do to the latter what we preached before 2015 general elections.

“We, the major APC groups in Ondo state have decided to pick Otunba Benson Akingboye of the Social Democratic Party as our choice.

“However silent mobilisation has been ongoing but we decided this time to inform our party because of the myriad of “I don’t care attitude” that the APC leadership in Abuja have been displaying to matters like this that concerns the youth of Ondo state long before.

“We cannot continue to die in silence and showcase total loyalty to the destiny wasters in our state. Otunba Benson Akingboye is more or less an APC family whose track and philosophy are similar to that of our dear president Tinubu.

“He had on various platforms recognised His excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as an epitome of modern politics that Nigeria can have. If truly the party leadership is concerned about the great future of our dear party and the good people of Ondo state, it will see this write-up as a clarion call rather than attack on the party.

“We are monitoring all the activities very closely from all quarters. We pray that in a bid to favour gov. Aiyedatiwa, some people will not set Ondo state on Fire.

“Meanwhile, what would eventually remove gov. Aiyedatiwa from office is already cooking even when he is forcefully declared as the winner of the election. We have told our people not to waste their precious votes!”

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said that he has not been invited to the swearing-in ceremony of the Governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo, scheduled for Tuesday.

Obaseki stated this on Friday during the inauguration of the caretaker committee for the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party in Benin City, the state capital.

The governor claimed that the All Progressives Congress was planning the inauguration without consulting him or involving the state government in the preparations.

He said, “Somebody has to be sworn in. Sworn into a government that exists. You don’t just come from nowhere and start a government. There is already a government. There is a way things are done.

“The government of Edo State is inaugurating a new governor on Tuesday. But what you are seeing now is just the posters. The government of Edo State is not involved.”

Obaseki condemned the APC’s actions as lawless, asserting that the state government should oversee the inauguration programme.

He continued, “So, it is absurd when people behave the way they are behaving as if there are no laws in the country. I just sit down sometimes and wonder.

“Are we okay as a country? We are guided by the constitution, laws, precedents, and procedures.

“So, they are holding an inauguration, and I, as the governor, don’t even know. I’ve not even been invited. It’s as if they are starting a brand new state and government.”

BY Francesca Hangeior

Ahead of the November 16 Ondo governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission confirmed on Thursday that sensitive election materials will arrive in Akure by Tuesday, November 12.

Addressing stakeholders at a pre-election meeting held in Akure, INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu announced that all sensitive materials, including ballots and result sheets, would be delivered to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Akure branch by early next week.

According to Yakubu, the election materials will be inspected by political party representatives and other stakeholders to ensure transparency before being distributed to local governments and wards across the state.

Yakubu stressed that INEC is committed to a well-organised and credible election process, noting that all logistical arrangements for the safe delivery and distribution of materials have been completed.

“We have arranged for the delivery of sensitive materials for the election to arrive as early as Tuesday next week.

“We will invite political parties and other stakeholders for the usual inspection of the materials at the Central Bank here in Akure, and throughout the movement of sensitive materials to the local governments and the ward centres,” he stated.

To support the timely deployment of these materials, Yakubu highlighted that INEC has arranged for both land and maritime transportation to reach all areas of Ondo State, ensuring access to polling units across the region.

“We have made arrangements for land and maritime transportation of personnel and materials,” he noted.

INEC has also engaged security agencies to protect the sensitive materials and personnel involved in the election process.

With the countdown to election day in full swing, INEC has been conducting final preparations, including a mock accreditation of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in select locations across Ondo State.

Yakubu assured the public that INEC is ready to conduct a fair, secure, and transparent election.