I am next Ondo governor —Akeredolu

There was massive turnout of voters in major cities of Ondo on Saturday as eligible voters trooped out en masse to elect new      governor for the state.

From Akure township, which falls within the Central Senatorial District to Owo and Ipele in the Northern Senatorial District, Sunday Tribune  correspondents who monitored the process reported that most of the polling units witnessed large number of voters, who came       as early as 7.30 a.m. to perform their civic responsibilities.

However, in some of the polling units at Owo, some of the voters and presiding electoral officers complained of malfunctioning     of the smart card readers, saying the development had slowed down the voting process.

Speaking to journalists after casting his vote at Unit 6, Ward 5 of Isokun Oke Ijebu, Owo, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), said with the unfolding events, “by the grace of God, we are winning   this election.”

Accompanied by his wife, Akeredolu, who voted around 10.30 a.m. asserted that “I am convinced that I am winning this election. I      am the next governor of Ondo State by the grace of God.”

Commenting on the call for the postponement of the election by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship    candidate, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), he contended that there was no justifiable reason for the postponement of the election,    stressing that “it is PDP’s internal problem. The call for the postponement is a lame excuse. It is an excuse for the imminent loss of   the PDP in the election.”

On the assessment of the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Akeredolu said “you cannot    judge INEC until the process is on and over. They ought to have tested their smart card readers before now.”

At Ijegun Junction, Unit 9, Ward 4 in Ijebu Owo, Sunday Tribune gathered that eligible voters besieged the polling unit  but the election exercise was delayed because of the malfunctioning condition of the card readers.

One of the voters, Mr Samuel Obajalaye, said “we have been here since 8.30am, the card reader  is not working. The polling officer called somebody to fix it, but the card reader failed to work.”

At Unit 12, Ward 07, in Ipele of Owo Local Government, the presiding officer, Mr Uchenna Nnamonu, said voting commenced in the  area around 8.00 a.m, just as one the chieftains of the APC in the area, Mr Nuel Olaeleyinle, described the conduct of the election   exercise as peaceful.

Similarly, the standard-bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Olu Agunloye, who cast his vote at    Ward 8, Unit 10 in Akoko North West Local Government, said the election was peaceful and there was encouraging atmosphere for  eligible voters to exercise their civic responsibilities.”