As the race for the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State gets intense, political parties fielding candidates for the poll on Friday signed a Peace Accord.
Specifically, 17 political parties including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Agboola Ajayi among others signed the Peace Accord at the International Culture and Event Centre (The Dome) Akure, the state capital.
Chairman of the National Peace Committee and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar urged the party leaders and candidates to accept the outcome of the elections as long as it is adjudged to be free, fair, and credible, and to seek legitimate and peaceful means of addressing any concern that may arise thereafter.
“I want to call on all stakeholders to work assiduously in their capacities to ensure that peace reigns supreme during this election and that the Ondo state off-cycle election sets a precedent for other off-cycle elections to emulate.
“While I commend the INEC, for the work done so far, I call on them to continuously live up to their responsibilities in ensuring that eligible voters exercise their franchise peacefully and that the remaining electoral processes are credible free, and fair.
“I must also extol the Nigeria Police Force and members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) for maintaining peace and security in Ondo state. It has indeed remained one of the relatively peaceful states in the Country. I therefore urge them to remain resilient in averting any threats of violence and maintaining the peace in the state as we are only a few days away from the elections.
Abubakar called on the people of Ondo state to exercise their civic duty by coming out en masse to vote for the candidates of their choice and desist from selling their votes, as it contradicts the very essence of democracy.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission has perfected its arrangements for the movement of over 17,000 ad hoc and regular officials as well as large quantities of materials to 4,154 voting and collation locations (3,933 polling units, 203 Ward and 18 LGA collation centres).
“In the case of Ondo State, this task is to be accomplished by boat in the two riverine Local Government Areas of Ese Odo and Ilaje, and by a combination of trucks, four wheel vehicles and motorcycles in respect of the mainland areas of the State. You should therefore expect to see a remarkable improvement in Election Day logistics. Voters in Ondo State should also expect to see similar improvement in result management.
“I will not be tired of appealing to political parties and candidates to note that your signatures on the Peace Accord document alone will not guarantee a peaceful election. The Peace Accord is not an automated, self-activating document. Your commitment to its implementation is critical. Therefore, as you sign the Peace Accord, you should commit yourselves to its implementation and pass the message to your supporters at all levels for compliance. As I said repeatedly, this is the best way to honour the effort and sacrifice of the Chairman and members of the NPC to peaceful elections in Nigeria.”
In his address, the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun said the Police will timeously provide enough Armoured Personnel Carrier (APCs), trucks, patrol vehicles, buses for covert operations, ambulances, helicopters, drones, K9 and anti-riot equipment to complement the strength of Ondo State Command.
He stressed that all measures will be emplaced on or before Monday, November 11, 2024.
The IGP said the Police will deploy a total of 34,657 personnel to the polling units, wards/LGA collation centers as well as other strategic locations.
“It is expected that Four (4) Police personnel will be deployed at each polling unit, which then implies that 15,732 conventional police personnel will be required for the 3,933 polling units and voting points in the State.
“This will be complemented by the Armed Forces, the Intelligence Security Agencies and other sister Security Agencies. A total of 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 be deployed to augment the Police strength. This will bring the total number of security personnel deployed for the election to 43,157”, Egbetokun added.
