THE air here in the Ondo State capital of Akure was heavy with anticipatory celebration on Saturday evening, as citizens of the Sunshine State prepared to usher in their incumbent governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, into a second term in office.
Earlier in the day, a massive turnout of voters was recorded as people from all background trooped out to perform their civic obligation of electing a governor after almost four years of Mimiko’s widely-approved successes in office at Alagbaka, the official seat of power in Akure, Ondo State.
Saturday’s election was mostly peaceful, taking place under the intense scrutiny of armed military personnel who were drafted alongside the police to maintain law and order as tensions rose with the coming of the Election Day, in a state known for its fierce political consciousness.
Isolated incidences were however recorded of authorities apprehending people who disobeyed orders on restriction of movement while the elections lasted in the state. A few taxicabs were seen operating around town in contravention of the law.
In the ancient town of Owo, hometown of Action Congress of Nigeria candidate Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor Mimiko defeated Akeredolu at the ACN candidate’s own Unit #6 Ward #5 by 5 votes, at 144-139 votes, although it is expected that Akeredolu is on course to carry the town as a whole. A breakdown of the votes at Akeredolu’s ward showed ACN – 139. ACPN – 3. BNPP -2. CPC -3. PDP -35. LP – 144.
The reverse was the case at Governor Mimiko’s ward in Ondo town, which is about 30 minutes drive from Akure, where the governor swept the poll. At the ward, Mimiko’s Labour Party polled 348, while his closest rival, Akeredolu of ACN polled a distant 16 votes, closely followed by Olusola Oke of the PDP at 11.
There were initial reports of slight delays in the commencement of the Saturday’s polling, with the governor expressing concern as he waited for accreditation in the morning.
“That’s very disturbing, we are still investigating it. I will not pronounce any judgment on the general arrangement so far for we are still collating our reports from the various units and from the local governments,” Governor Mimiko told the press.
Accreditation and polling of voters however went on smoothly, and Governor Mimiko and his wife, Olufunke Mimiko, cast their votes at 2.30pm local time. By 3.30pm, vote counting was in progress at most polling booths in the state.
Later in the evening, some journalists were observed engaged in a loud argument, allegedly over the sum of N1m, called ‘appreciation money’, supposedly given to them by the governor.
Earlier on Saturday, police authorities refuted reports that a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria who was also a former special duties commissioner in Ondo State, Niran Sule- Akinsuyi in Owo.
However, another man, Samuel Oni, was arrested shortly after noontime by a combination of police and soldiers in Ondo town with huge cash and list of beneficiaries.
He was appprehended at Oke- Itunu, Akure Motor Park, in the town, where voters waiting to cast their votes at the polling units raised the alarm after sighting the list in his possession, along with party agents brochure and a large amount of cash.
They alleged that he wanted to start distributing the cash to electorate to buy votes for a candidate. Policemen at the polling units as well as soldiers stationed at the Yaba junction swooped in to arrested the suspect.
The suspect confessed to being an agent of the Peoples Democratic Party and explained
that the huge cash was feeding allowance for party agents.
He was beaten by the voters before security agents took him away. The crowd, however, rejected attempt by the police to take him away, expressing doubts that justice would be done in his case. But he was driven away the armed soldiers in a Ford Van marked NA 929 BOS.