At the last count, 17 political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), are fielding candidates in the Ondo State governorship election, which started this morning across the state.
Despite the 17 candidates from the various political parties, there are only three main contestants and analysts have predicted the poll will largely be a three-horse race. The three parties are the ruling APC, PDP, and the Zenith Labour Party, with Akeredolu, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, and Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi as the respective candidates.
The PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, has explained that his refusal to jump the queue at his polling unit was to serve as an example to the good people of the state. Jegede and his wife, Eno, arrived at Ward 2, Polling Unit 10, Akure South Local Government, around 09:00am to perform their civic responsibility but refused to jump the line.
The former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state got to the premises with a couple of aides and supporters and spoke with the media. He said, “Don’t forget that I am a citizen of this state. The same blood that flows in my veins flows in their veins. It is only fair that we stay where we should be. The truth is that so many people came here so early, and it will be unfair for me to jump the queue. We must lay good examples; we must lay good narratives.”
As the elections progressed however, a yet-to-be-identified man, who shot into the air caused panic in Ward 4, Unit 11, Oke Ijebu, Akure, while voting was on. Sources at the polling unit said many people waiting to cast their vote scampered to safety, while security men moved to the scene of the shooting. It was learnt that the gunman had besieged the polling unit with an attempt to disrupt the poll but was overpowered by security agencies.
Police Public Relations Officer for Ondo Command, Tee-Leo Ikoro, who confirmed the incident said normalcy had returned to the area. Ikoro said, “it was not as pronounced as you heard. It was true someone shot into the air and police got wind of it and deployed more men. It happened in Ward 4, unit 11. But normalcy had returned to the area.”
