The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) on Tuesday, officially completed the process of the Governorship election in Ondo state with the presentation of Certificates of Return to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and the Deputy Governor-Elect, Lucky Ayedatiwa.
The brief ceremony was held at the conference room of the Commission in Akure, with few guests, including the spouses of the recipients, in attendance.
At the presentation ceremony, INEC Resident Commissioner, Mr Rufus Akeju, told Governor Akeredolu that his reelection was a challenge for him to do more for the people.
Governor Akeredolu, used the occasion to commend INEC for the successful conduct of the election.
The governor restated that his second coming would bring more dividends of democracy to the people stressing that all nooks and crannies of the state would be touched.
He, also, commended security agents and the electorate for the success of the election, and dedicated his victory and the certificates to God and the people of Ondo State.
Akeredolu won the Governorship election of October 10, defeating his closest competitor, Eyitola Jegede of the PDP, with a vote margin of 93,000. Jegede is yet to congratulate him. He is still studying the results, he said.
Former Minister for Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili has come down hard on President Muhammadu Buhari over what she described as Buhari’s lack of experience and needed temperament to lead a diverse nation like Nigeria out of its current challenges.
Between 2012 and 2015, Ezekwesili was a great fan of Buhari, and using as a peg, the unfortunate, controversial kidnapping of the students of Chibok Girls’ Secondary School by the Boko Haram, pushed and campaigned against the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency. The campaign which she led, tagged “#Bring Back Our Girls”, helped paint Jonathan in unflattering colours before the International Community, and ultimately his defeat in 2015.
In a first of its kind in Nigeria, the candidate of an opposition party, in the instant case, Muhammadu Buhari won the Presidential election.
But it was not long before Ezekwesili turned against the Buhari administration and, in 2019, was a Presidential Candidate in.a bid to sack Buhari from office. She failed, quitting the field before the election took place.
Recently, she was one of those who launched a new initiative called ‘#FixPolitics’.
Speaking on the state of the Nation, Ezekwesili said Nigeria’s religious divide and differences have become deeper now than ever due to what she described as the “irresponsible, clannish, provincial, incompetent, and ineffectual management of our diversity by President Buhari”.
According to her, while countries like Botswana, Singapore, and South Korea that gained independence in the 1960s like Nigeria have successfully transformed their societies, Nigeria is still groping in the dark due to the fact that the citizens are not bound by common aspirations and shared principles.
She said: “As a result of those failures to build consensus, Nigeria has hobbled along as a country of people who are not unified around common aspirations and shared principles.
“How different the outcomes would be if we were a country guided by aspirations like equal opportunity, inclusive growth and prosperity, social cohesion and stability.
“These are proven from our #FixPolitics research as some of the building blocks on which other countries transformed their societies.
“We found countries like Botswana, Singapore, and South Korea to have prioritised human development, merit, productivity and healthy competition among constituent parts, as well as their citizens.
President Muhammad Buhari
“The results show up in their economic performance and the vastly improved wellbeing of their citizens in contrast to Nigeria – all three countries gained independence in the 1960s from Britain.
“However, reality is setting in now. For after many decades of ignoring the obvious, it is becoming clearer to all discerning and reasonable compatriots that our union is facing the severest threat to its existence now.
“All is simply not well with Nigeria and Nigerians. Our country, Nigeria, is on the brink of a break-up despite the delusional protestations of Federal Government officials and their sycophants.
“Our ethnic and religious divides and differences have never been sharper and deeper than now.
“And this is all because of the irresponsible, clannish, provincial, incompetent, and ineffectual management of our diversity by President Buhari who simply does not know how to nor have the temperament to learn how to lead a diverse society like Nigeria.
“The totality of factors that threaten the existence of Nigeria are expressed in the consistent and unabashed ethnic bigotry of President Buhari.”
In an about- turn, Ezekwesili said comparing Buhari and his predecessor, Jonathan, is a huge mistake, as Jonathan was far better than Buhari in Governance.
Ezekwesili stressed that Buhari is worse in Governance than Jonathan.
She added: “That President Buhari – who was elected by a representative section of the Nigerian people in a protest vote against his failed predecessor – has, in turn, dug Nigeria deeper into the trenches of humongous failure, will remain a wonder of historical proportion.
“Nigeria’s failures under President Buhari have become profoundly unsustainable.
“It is perplexing to watch our political leaders carrying on with their pretense that Nigeria is currently being governed.
“How can the political leadership of a country which is practically insolvent, terribly brittle on all fronts of national security and lost its diplomatic leadership and influence even in West Africa keep acting as if everything is normal?”
Ezekwesili, who said that there was no difference between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), added that politicians in both parties were like Siamese twins who placed their selfish interests over, and above the wellbeing of the people they govern.
“Such imperiousness was the same attitude exhibited by the previous government of the current opposition party.
“Most Nigerians are fed up with the Siamese Twins-type syndrome of our politicians, regardless of whether they belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Their party acronyms may differ, but the people in our politics today are of one embryo and exhibit a common and dominant political culture that places the narrow interests of our politicians over and above the wellbeing of the people they govern.
“Nigerians have experienced and now openly express frustration at the ‘hand-down’ and ‘turn-by-turn failure’ of the political leadership class in Nigeria at the federal, state or local government levels.
“They are designed by the environment that enables them to act without consequences and the incentive they respond to, to govern in ways that do not produce results for citizens.”
It is not known, yet, if Ezekwesili will contest for the Presidency in 2023.
The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed a Vote of Confidence on the troubled Speaker, Rt. Hon Mudashiru Obasa. The Speaker has also debunked the rumour that there are moves to impeach him.
35 members of the Assembly present at the Plenary of Monday, October 12, 2020, passed a vote of confidence on the Speaker for his exemplary leadership.
The rumour making the round in social media that 26 of them have signed an impeachment notice on the Speaker, was quashed, with members showing solidarity to the Speaker.
The motion for the vote of confidence was moved by Hon Rotimi Olowo (Somolu 1) and was seconded by Hon Kehinde Joseph( Alimosho 2), after which all the members in the hallowed Chamber raised their hands in support of the motion.
Before pledging their unflinching loyalty, all members took turns to pay glowing tributes to the speaker for being proactive in state matters and for his exemplary leadership, particularly, in legislative matters both in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
The Speaker in his response thanked members for their unalloyed support and confidence reposed in him.
He said he was initially against the idea of passing a vote of confidence on him when it was first mooted but had to succumb when many members supported the idea.
According to him, “I don’t think it necessary because I do not entertain any fear. I strongly believe that my becoming speaker was by divine intervention. It was not something planned. It happened through the will of Allah. Being here today as speaker is still by the grace of Almighty Allah. So, if one believes this, he would have peace of mind.”
The Speaker said the House is one and would continue to remain one.
“This House will never be divided. If there is anybody that is not pleased let him adjust himself. Let us see this House as our responsibility.
“I have been here for a while, Speaker had been removed, deputy speaker had been removed. So, if anybody is removed, he should take it as part of the process of the House. Nobody, including me, can say that without him the House cannot progress. We should desist from that.”
He said everything that had been going on since March about the Assembly was political.
“The interest is to get the Speaker out of the way. Not because of Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa. There have been allegations upon allegations and we challenged them to bring evidence of awarding contracts to family members, nobody has been able to bring any. We have challenged them to bring approvals that we have not implemented, nothing.
“They have taken me to EFCC. I have been invited and I have honored their invitation. The invitation continues. So, it is nothing but desperation to get the Speaker out of the way. I just hope EFCC would not allow itself to be dragged into political matters.
“Let us continue to work together in the interest of our people. Those who are chasing shadows will get tired.
“Muyiwa Jimoh was calling America asking for Obasa’s house number in so so place. We have the evidence. We have the recording and this is a colleague. We just ignored so many things. But when it gets to a stage we cannot bear it anymore we will show those who are not ready to abide by the rules of the House the way out. So that they will not disturb the peace of this House.
“We thank God for all the members in the House today and we heard what they all said. It shows that the House is one and peaceful. We will continue to be so and not allow anybody to distract us from doing what we are here for.
“Once again, I pray that Almighty Allah will continue to support each one of you as you have always supported me in this assignment.”Obasa concluded.
The Speaker has been having a running battle with the EFCC over corruption allegations. Three of his bank accounts have been frozen by the EFCC.
The dissolving of the Special Armed Robbery Squad, SARS, nationwide on Sunday, by the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu, has not put an end to the street protests.
Monday morning, protesters in Lagos took the streets, again, blocking strategic streets in Ikeja and the Lekki tollgate, and triggered a monstrous traffic gridlock.
Thousands of exasperated Nigerian youths had taken to the streets, nationwide, in protest against the brutalities, humiliation and brazen extortion meted out to mostly innocent Nigerians, especially, youths, by SARS operatives.
The #EndSARS protesters were joined and supported by many Nigerian Celebrities, including two daughters of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Zahra and Kiki.
A couple of days into the protests, the IGP stripped SARS of most of the functions its personnel appropriated to themselves, ordered them off the roads, barred them from scrolling people’s phones, and asked them to wear uniforms so Nigerians can differentiate between them and criminals.
The steps taken by the IGP were not enough for them. Nor was the order given to the IGP by Buhari to look into the excesses of SARS, as presented by the protesters.
On Sunday, the Nigerian Government bowed to the protesters whose main goal was the ending of SARS.
At a Press Conference he addressed in Abuja, IGP Adamu scrapped SARS nationwide, and ordered the immediate redeployment of its personnel.
But the protesters are not pacified. They are asking for more. They say a Presidential Executive Order is needed to back the dissolution of SARS, if it is going to carry any weight.
They insist that this same IGP had banned SARS a couple of times before. But the outfit came back stronger and worse than before.
They are also asking for the immediate arrest and prosecution of all SARS operatives who brutalised, extorted and killed innocent Nigerians.
During the recent #EndSARS protests, a couple of youths, and, at least, one police personnel were killed.
The protesters are, also, asking the Governments of the USA, United Kingdom, and the European Union, to impose Visa restrictions on the IGP, his Deputies and his Assistants.
The call for Visa restrictions on them was first made on Sunday by a former
Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank. Frank said the the appeal to the “Governments of the United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) to impose VISA restrictions on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, his deputies and assistants over SARS, was necessary to teach them a lesson for condoning the atrocities for too long.
Frank in a statement in Abuja. Sunday, said the call became imperative to restore civility and decorum to the activities of the Nigeria Police in their dealings with innocent citizens.
“Just like the visa restrictions on election riggers in Kogi and Bayelsa States helped to ensure a free, fair and credible election in Edo State recently, we are convinced that a similar action from members of the international community” will clean up the NPF.
He, also, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry where victims of SARS’ torture, extortion, and the family of those killed extra-judicially can seek redress and SARS operatives found culpable punished according to law.
He condemned the Senate President Ahmad Lawan for saying SARS should not be banned despite their manifest impunity towards Nigerians, and urged the 9th National Assembly to rise up and defend the rights of Nigerians who voted them into office.
“Lawan, apparently, has lost touch with reality to think that his sentimental cum window dressing solution is enough to tame the heinousness of the SARS’ operatives who appear to have sold their souls to the devil. The Senate President’s suggested reform of SARS is delusional at best.
“The intervention of the National Assembly must go beyond rhetoric and half-hearted gyrations in their chambers. The lives of the people that elected them are in grave danger of greedy SARS’ operatives.
“They cannot afford to engage in delay tactics through bogus probes. Nigerians need to see true and passionate action to disband SARS and all other tactical outfits of the police whose activities are inimical to the peace and security of the people,” Frank said.
He also called on the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Musiliu Smith, “to wake up from their slumber in the face of egregious acts” by the now dissolved SARS of the police against members of the public.
On Monday in Lagos, it was business, as usual, for the #EndSARS protesters. They insist the dissolution of SARS was no longer enough. They want to see the bad eggs who killed and maimed innocent citizens prosecuted. The protests continued unabated.
The political atmosphere in Edo state seems to have calmed after Governor Godwin Obaseki won a re-election four weeks ago. But with the impeachment of the Speaker of the state house of Assembly, Henry Okiye, few hours ago, another battle line may have been drawn by the political actors in the state.
The former Speaker is one of the close allies of Governor Obaseki who backed the governor against his predecessor and former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole over the control of the soul of politics of the state.
Even though the magazine was told that the impeachment is part of the realignment of forces in the state after the keenly contested election was won by the incumbent, it’s not really clear why Okiye became the first casualty after the gubernatorial election has been won and lost.
But one source told the magazine that the hawks in Governor Obaseki’s government moved against the former Speaker over what he described as ‘his decision to remain in APC after the governor and his deputy moved to PDP after dumping APC to realise their ambitions.”
When journalist asked the former speaker in July why he chose to remain in APC after Obaseki and his deputy, Phillip Shuaibu had moved to PDP, he said he had not made up his mind to defect.
he said then that the decision to leave the party was purely his and would decide on the issue with the passage of time. He never did.
Okiye’s impeachment, the magazine learnt came after the majority leadr of the assembly, Henry Okhurobo, raised a motion to that effect, and was later approved by nine other members who were present at a briefing in Benin, the state’s capital.
Marcus Onobun, representing Esan West constituency has been elected the speaker of the assembly
The just concluded Governorship election in Ondo state won the award of the most policed election in the history of Nigeria.
Investigations revealed that virtually all arms of security network in Nigeria such as Directorate of State Service, (DSS), Nigeria Police Force, (NPF), Customs, Army, Navy, Air force, EFCC and NSCDC among others were involved in security arrangement during the election.
There was no reported case of security personnel brutalizing voters or preventing them from excercising their rights throughout the election period.
Apart from one or two spots within Akure metropolis where incidents of shooting by suspected thugs were recorded, no other serious security breach was recorded during the election.
From our investigations, it was gathered that NCDC contributed 7000 officers, police, 36,000; army 10,000; road safety,10,000; custom, 5,000; navy, 5,000; DSS, 10,000; EFCC, 10,000.
A Deputy Inspector General of Police, two Assistant Inspectors General and Eleven Commissioners of Police were among the team of policemen deployed for the election.
Apart from this, heavy and sophisticated security equipment were moved to the state in an apparent bid to nip, in the bud, any breakdown of law and order.
Stakeholders were of the view that the heavy security presence during the poll was as a result of the gale of violence in all parts of the state that preceded the election which was beyond control of the state police command.
According to opinions, heavy security presence was also possible because Ondo was the only state where election took place, which facilitated security deployment from virtually all formations in the country.
Director of YIAGA Africa, one of the Civil Societies Groups that monitored the election, Mrs Aisha Abdullahi, confirmed the heavy presence during the election but said the officers were civil and friendly to voters.
Incumbent Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, candidate of the APC, won the election with a majority margin of over 90,000 votes, beating Eyitayo Jegede to a second place. He won in 15 out of 18 LGAs to secure a second term in office.
Neither Jegede, nor the incumbent Deputy Governor/ candidate of the ZLP, Agboola Ajayi, has congratulated Akeredolu since his decisive victory.
Jegede, alleging widespread vote-buying and violence, said he was still studying the result. But President Muhammadu Buhari, while congratulating Akeredolu described his victory as one good turn, deserving another, saying that he served his state well during his first term.
The Protest against SARS took another twist as Human Rights Group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on Sunday called for the suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth over “persistent attacks on peaceful protesters, reports of human rights violations and abuses, corruption, impunity, as well as disregard for the rule of law.”
In an urgent appeal signed by the organisation’s Deputy Director, Oluwadare Kolawole, SERAP said “Such action by the Commonwealth will be commensurate with the gravity of the human rights situation in the country. A government that attacks its own citizens for peaceful protests severely undermines its credibility as a democratic regime that respects human rights and the rule of law.”
The appeal read in part; “The ongoing events in Nigeria demonstrate the authorities’ determination to suppress all forms of peaceful dissent and freedom of expression of the Nigerian people. There are well-founded fears that the human rights situation in Nigeria will deteriorate even further if urgent action is not taken to address it.
“These protests are taking place against a backdrop of the failure by the Nigerian government to address persistent concerns around police brutality and impunity, corruption, lack of respect for economic and social rights of the people, and disregard for the rule of law. The result has been a crisis of daily electricity outages, a struggling public education and health system, lack of access to clean water, and widespread youth unemployment.
“Lack of transparency and accountability, and the absence of the rule of law in Nigeria have resulted in a growing level of protest activity, and an unprecedented brutal crackdown on human rights by the authorities.
“People have been targeted simply for exercising their fundamental freedoms including their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression to end police brutality and impunity. SERAP is concerned about a significant deterioration in the human rights situation in the country since the assumption of office by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2015.
“Nigerian authorities have since 2015 promised to address police brutality and impunity but have repeatedly failed to do so. Authorities would seem to be suppressing protests to punish and intimidate people campaigning for an end to police corruption and brutality, grand corruption and impunity, human rights abuses, and disregard for the rule of law.
“Allowing citizens to freely exercise their human rights including to freedom of expression and peaceful protest without threat of reprisal or attack would enable them to contribute to society on issues of transparency, accountability, good governance, integrity, and human rights.
President Muhammadu Buhari
“The Commonwealth Charter recognises the inalienable right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, in particular through peaceful protests and freedom of expression in shaping the society in which they live and for these rights to be protected and respected.
“Similarly, Nigeria has responsibility under the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended] and international human rights treaties to which the country is a state party to protect peaceful protesters and ensure a safe and enabling environment for people to exercise their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
SERAP therefore urged the Commonwealth to look into the following demands of Nigerians:
Establish a mechanism to visit Nigeria to monitor and report on human rights violations and abuses, absence of transparency and accountability, and persistent disregard for the rule of law, and to get to the root of the facts and circumstances of such abuses, with a view to ensuring full accountability;
Publicly condemn reports of human rights abuses, absence of transparency and accountability, and put pressure on the government to take preventive measures to end impunity in the context of its response to peaceful protests, including #EndSARS protests;
Urge Nigerian authorities to fully and adequately protect protesters from violent attacks by Nigeria police and security agents, and to ensure the safety of journalists and media workers observing, monitoring and recording protests;
Urge Nigerian authorities to take measures to address the root causes of protests and longstanding injustices and socio-economic grievances that have driven people to the streets to protest;
Urge Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release anyone arrested in relation to #EndSARS protests and other peaceful protests, to promptly investigate all allegations of violations and abuses against protesters, and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice, as well as ensure access to justice and redress for victims;
Urge Nigerian authorities to ensure that people can enjoy their human rights without discrimination and to take all possible measures, including by cutting the costs of governance particularly the proposed spending in the 2021 budget of: N9.2 billion to renovate the National Assembly complex; N12.5 billion to maintain the Presidential fleet; N2.3 billion to pay entitlements of ex-heads of state, presidents, vice-presidents, and N500 million to buy cars for them. This is consistent with the government’s obligation to prevent corruption and misuse of resources.”
It is not known if the dissolution of SARS on Sunday by the Inspector General of Police will cause the withdrawal of the petition to the Commonwealth by SERAP.
Savouring the joy of his election for a second term, Ondo state Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu has described his reelection for second term as a testimony of the confidence the people of the state repose in his administration.
Akeredolu, in a statement said that “the renewal of our mandate in this election is an eloquent testimony to the degree of acceptance by you, the good people of Ondo State.
“It affirms that the confidence reposed in our Administration remains unshaken. It is a statement on your assessment of our performance in the last three and a half years.
“It is unequivocal, direct, inspiring and soul lifting. It is awesome. It is a reward for hard work, dedication, focus, honesty and patriotism. It is also a challenge to us for rededication to service in the interest of our people. On this, we shall not relent.
“We set out on the first leg of this political adventure with the determination to make the whole State our constituency. We have not relented on our mission to bridge the huge infrastructural deficit inherited on assumption of office.
“We hold the axiom as evident that the welfare of the people should be the only justification for the existence of government.
“We have allowed this admonition to be the guiding principle of governance. We are elated to receive a scorecard through this state-wide plebiscite.”
According to him, the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC), throws an open challenge to all stakeholders not to choose the path of complacency.
“We have noted the few dissenting voices of protest in this referendum. We heard them loud and clear. We intend to address genuine grievances. We shall continue to focus on the development of our God-given space, the Sunshine State.
“This Administration will not be distracted in the discharge of our sacred mandate. The people will continue to be at the centre of all decisions. We will proceed with our administrative style which promotes transparency and accountability.
“We are determined to set our State, progressively, on the path of real development. Self-reliance is attainable. Our State has no business with poverty. Sincere, purposeful and focused leadership should have little difficulty in harnessing the vast resources, both human and natural. We will put in everything to justify the trust reposed in us.”
Akeredolu noted the Spirit of sportsmanship in his opponent Eyitayo Jegede, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party for participating in this historic process.
“His patriotism is not in doubt. His love for the people is unassailable. He is indeed a worthy adversary. Our State is indeed blessed for having people of his quality.
The Governor’s appreciation also goes to President Mohammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, leaders of APC at national and state levels for their support during the campaigns.
Akeredolu roundly defeated his opponents in the Ondo state Governorship election held on October 10, thus securing a second term in office.
As expected, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Sunday, suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Yakasai, with immediate effect, for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari.
Yakassai had on Sunday, criticised Buhari for not having any empathy for Nigerians over #EndSars campaign.
He said it was unfortunate that Buhari had not addressed Nigerians amid nationwide protests against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force.
In a tweet on his handle, @dawisu, Yakassai said the President has no empathy for Nigerians by his inaction.
Later on Sunday, too, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, announced the dissolution of SARS.
Yakasai tweeted, “I have never seen a government with zero empathy like that of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“So many times when his people are going through a difficult time and expect some sort of tap on shoulder to reassure them that he is in charge, but he failed to do so.
“The ‘I don’t care attitude’ is on another level.
“To speak to your own people over issues that are bedevilling them has become something like a favour you are doing to them.
“Over and over again, you cannot spare five minutes to address the nation to calm them down, the same people you went to the 36 states to beg for their votes, it is heartbreaking.”
Shocked at Yakassai’s tweet, the Kano State Government, in a statement, described Yakasai’s comments as “unguarded utterances”
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
His suspension the Government said, is with immediate effect.
Titled ‘Ganduje Suspends Media Aide Over Attack On Buhari’ and signed by the Commissioner for Information, Muhammed Garba, the statement released Sunday afternoon read in part:
“Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Tanko Yakasai over some unguarded utterances on the person of President Muhammadu Buhari on the social media platform.
“The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who conveyed the governor’s directive in a statement this afternoon, said the suspension is with immediate effect.
“He said that though the media aide has owned up the indiscreet comment as his personal opinion, but that as a public figure, it will be difficult to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public concern.
“The Governor, therefore, warned political appointees and public servants to guard against making statements capable of drawing unnecessary controversy and heating up the polity.”
Yakassai is the second aide Ganduje would suspend from office over criticisms against Buhari. The first was his former Commissioner for Works.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), on Sunday, has declared the incumbent Governor of Ondo State, Ararkunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN of the All Progressives Congress (APC), winner of the Governorship election which was held on Saturday October 10.
He emerged winner of the election which held across the 302 wards in the 18 local government areas of the State.
Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 292,830 votes while Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), polled 195,780 votes.
His enstranged deputy, Agboola Ajayi, who contested on the ticket of Zenith Labour Party, (ZLP) polled 69,127 to place third.
In its first reaction to the result, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) said it would study the result of the Ondo state Governorship election and take necessary action .
Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Peretei Kennedy, dropped the hint while addressing newsmen at the residence of the PDP candidate, Mr Eyitayo Jegede in Akure after the declaration of the Governorship election result.
Mr Peretei urged PDP supporters to be in high spirit and be optimistic, alleging that there were pocket of violence in owo, Ese-odo among others.
