Osamagbe Imadiyi
The Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, announced yesterday that Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, or APC, had won the governorship election on Saturday.
With 366,781 votes, Mr. Aiyedatiwa defeated his primary opponent, Mr. Agboola Ajayi of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who received 113,845 votes. Aiyedatiwa captured all 18 local council seats.
There were 11,886 rejected votes out of 508, 963 total votes cast, compared to 497,077 valid votes. More than two million people were registered to vote, and 1,793,914 of them obtained their PVCs, or permanent voter cards.All 15 of the other parties received fewer than 14,000 votes, indicating their poor performance.
An ecstatic governor and governor-elect dedicated his victory to his late boss, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, and invited opposition candidates to partner with him in putting the welfare of the Ondo people first and making sure the state continued to be a ray of hope and prosperity.
Following his election victory, Aiyedatiwa pledged in his acceptance speech to “run an inclusive and participatory government where every citizen has a voice and an opportunity to contribute to our collective progress.”
“The well-being of our citizens will remain our top priority, along with economic development and making sure that our state continues to be a ray of hope and prosperity for future generations.” He also said, “I dedicate this victory, first to the Almighty God and second to the memory of our departed leader, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who was the former governor of Ondo State.”
