APC wins all Ondo council polls

All Progressives Congress (APC) has won 16 of 18 declared LGAs in the Ondo council polls.

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

Aremo said the APC also won the councillorship positions in the 16 LGAs.

He noted that while rescheduled election is being held in Ondo west LGA, results are being expected from Owo LGA.

The electoral commission earlier said the decision was due to an outdated version of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) logo on the ballot paper.

“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.

Aremu said although the party had formally raised concerns about the matter, preparations for the election had been ongoing before the new logo was approved.

He assured the public that the commission will ensure that all arrangements are finalised before the rescheduled poll, adding that results from other councils will not be affected.

Ahead of the polls, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo announced its withdrawal from the council election, citing that the electoral umpire cannot be trusted to conduct a free and fair election.

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo, had described the withdrawal of the PDP “as an act of cowardice”.

The governor, who spoke after casting his vote at ward 4, polling unit 5 in the Ilaje LGA of the state, said he believed ODIEC would conduct a free and fair election.