…Accept defeat, YIAGA Africa urges Jegede, others
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Governor Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, on his re-election as Governor of Ondo State
He urged Gov Akeredolu to be humble and magnanimous in victory, and serve the people of Ondo State even better than how he did in the first term.
Akeredolu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC won in 15 of the 18 local government areas of the state while his rival, Eyitayo Jegede of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP won the remaining three.
He polled a total of 292,830 votes to defeat Jegede who scored 195,791.
A statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, titled “President Buhari congratulates Rotimi Akeredolu on re-election as Ondo governor,” Buhari said: “President Muhammadu Buhari rejoices with Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, on his re-election as Governor of Ondo State for another four-year term.
“The President lauds the resounding victory of the Governor at the election held on Saturday, October 10, 2020, noting that the votes garnered ‘show that one good turn surely deserves another.’
“He thanks the people of Ondo State for keeping faith with their Governor, and the All Progressives Congress, noting that ‘the people know the person and party that truly serves them, and have spoken in clear voice and unmistakable terms.’
“President Buhari appreciates the electorate in Ondo State for comporting themselves decently and in order, and for exhibiting conduct that indicates that the country is making progress in its electoral behaviour.
“He also gives kudos to the Independent National Electoral Commission for organising credible, free and fair election, and to security agencies which ensured that orderliness was enthroned and maintained.
“The President urges Gov Akeredolu to be humble and magnanimous in victory, and serve the people of Ondo State even better than how he did in the first term, noting: ‘when you serve with heart and might, the people respond in like manner, and we can easily get to where we are headed as a country.”
Meanwhile, a Civil Society Organisation, Yiaga Africa, has called on the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), to accept the outcome of the Oct. 10 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
Eyitayo Jegede contested under the umbrella of the PDP, while Agboola Ajayi contested on the platform of the ZLP.
Addressing a post-election press conference on Sunday in Akure, Mr Nwagwu, the Co-Chair of Yiaga Africa, also urged Gov. Akeredolu to be magnanimous in victory.
Nwagwu said, given the significant rate of procedural infractions around counting of “spoilt and counterfeit” ballot papers, the body would recommend better training for election-day INEC ad-hoc officials.
He, however, said the infractions never undermined the integrity of the process, but were signs that election-day officials deserve more training to improved their performance.
“Yiaga Africa commends INEC for its efforts to improve on the electoral process and efforts to comply with the COVID-19 protocol with respect to providing disinfectant/hand sanitizers in all polling units.
Yiaga Africa, however, believes that there are opportunities for improvement in elections and called on INEC to conduct a post-election audit on both the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
“This is important in order to enable the Commission to assess its performance, identify faulty operational areas for improvement and drive policy reforms to effectively plan for future elections,” he said.
