NIGERIA: APC Wins In 16 Ondo LGAs As ODIEC Reschedules Elections In Two Areas

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared winner in 16 of the 18 local government areas in Saturday’s local government elections in Ondo State, according to the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC).

The election, held for the positions of chairman, deputy chairman, and councillors across the state’s local government councils, saw the participation of 12 political parties.

Dr. Joseph Aremo, ODIEC Chairman and Chief Returning Officer, announced the results on Sunday, confirming that APC also claimed all councillorship seats in the 16 local governments where elections were concluded.

However, elections in Owo and Ondo West local governments were cancelled and rescheduled for Sunday due to errors on the ballot papers.

Specifically, the ballot papers for Ondo West mistakenly featured the outdated logo of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Dr. Aremo assured the public that the elections in the affected local governments were being conducted on Sunday and that the results would be announced at 7:00 p.m. the same day.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), one of the 13 registered parties, withdrew from the elections 48 hours before voting commenced.

In a statement issued on Thursday in Akure, the PDP’s Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Leye Igbagbo, cited a lack of confidence in ODIEC’s ability to conduct a free and fair election.

Despite PDP’s withdrawal, other political parties, including the Action Alliance (AA), Labour Party (LP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Boot Party (BP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Young Progressive Party (YPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), National Rescue Movement (NRM), and Action Democratic Party (ADP), participated in the elections.

The elections in Ondo State showcased the dominance of the APC, with many observers eagerly awaiting the final results from Owo and Ondo West to complete the overall tally.