APC wins 16 LGAs in Ondo as results of 2 councils are pending

• Before the Saturday poll, the last council election in the state was conducted on August 23, 2020, with the tenure of the elected council officials elapsing on August 22, 2023.
• Since then, the administration of the 18 council areas of the state has been managed by civil servants, specifically the Heads of Local Government Administrations.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged victorious in 16 out of 18 chairmanship seats in Ondo state’s local government elections.

The chairman of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC), Joseph Aremo revealed the results on Sunday in Akure.

Aremo disclosed that the APC also secured all councillorship seats in 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

He pointed out that while elections were rescheduled in Ondo West LGA, results were anticipated from Owo LGA.

The electoral commission attributed the rescheduling decision to an outdated New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) logo on ballot papers.

“The new logo of the party was approved late last year, and the process was ongoing. It is not as if we just started. We could have expected the party to draw our attention to the discrepancy earlier,” Aremo said.

Although the NNPP formally raised concerns, election preparations began before the new logo’s approval.

Aremo assured the public that the commission would finalize arrangements before the rescheduled poll, ensuring other council results remained unaffected.

Prior to the polls, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo withdrew, citing distrust in the electoral umpire’s ability to conduct fair elections.

Ondo Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa described the PDP’s withdrawal as “an act of cowardice.”

Aiyedatiwa expressed confidence in ODIEC’s ability to conduct fair elections after casting his vote in Ilaje LGA.

Only twelve political parties contested for the chairmanship and councillorship offices in the elections held on Saturday.

The names of the 12 political parties contesting in the election include: Action Alliance, Action Democratic Party, Action People’s Party, All Progressives Congress, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Boot Party, and Labour Party.

Others include the National Rescue Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Social Democratic Party, Young Progressive Party, and Zenith Labour Party.