The Yiaga Africa, an election observer group, has lauded the credibility of Saturday’s governorship election in the 18 Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the candidate of the All Progressives Party (APC) polled 366,781 votes.
Aiyedatiwa defeated his closest contender, Mr Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 117,845 votes.
The Chairman of the 2024 Ondo Election Mission, Yiaga, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, made the commendation while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Akure.
Nwagwu explained that Yiaga’s statistical analysis revealed that the results announced by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in all LGA’s were consistent with the group’s Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT).
“Had the official results been changed at various levels, the results would not have fallen within the estimated ranges of the group.
“Because the results fell within the estimated ranges, governorship contestants, political parties and voters should have confidence that the election reflects the ballots cast at polling units.
“INEC should take delicate steps to protect the secrecy of the ballot and enforce its guidelines in subsequent elections.
“The commission should ensure that the Biomodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is consistently updated and upgraded to ensure optimal functionality.
“INEC should also train its ad-hoc officials properly on disability provisions for each election. Such training will ensure that voters with disabilities are properly catered for.
“Security agencies should prosecute election offenders arrested during the election and be more proactive in arresting and prosecuting perpetrators for voter inducement and vote buying,” he said.
The chairman, therefore, urged Aiyedatiwa and all APC supporters to be magnanimous in their victory, while political parties and Nigerians should display political maturity and uphold peace.
He commended the media, other observer organisations and the international community for their support in the election, and expressed Yiaga’s commitment to promoting credible elections and the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.