The signing ceremony took place on Friday, October 8, 2024, at the International Culture and Event Centre in Akure.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Ahead of the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State, political parties and their candidates have signed a peace accord
The signing ceremony took place on Friday, October 8, 2024, at the International Culture and Event Centre in Akure, the state capital.
It was organised by the National Peace Committee, headed by former Head of State, Abdulsalam Abubakar. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu and Bishop Hassan Kukah were present at the event.
Some of the parties present at the signing of the peace accord include the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), among others.
In his address, INEC chairman urged the candidates and their parties to work to ensure that the election is peaceful.
He said, “Over the last four days, I have engaged with our own officials, security agencies, and transport service providers here in Ondo State to assess our readiness and perfect our arrangements for the movement of over 17,000 ad hoc and regular officials as well as large quantities of materials to 4,154 voting and collation locations (3,933 polling units, 203 Ward and 18 LGA collation centres).
“In the case of Ondo state, this task is to be accomplished by boat in the two riverine local government areas of Ese Odo and Ilaje, and by a combination of trucks, four-wheel vehicles and motorcycles in respect of the mainland areas of the State.
“You should, therefore, expect to see a remarkable improvement in Election Day logistics. Voters in Ondo State should also expect to see a similar improvement in result management.”
“A detailed operation order for the election has been prepared with adequate police personnel to be deployed. The Nigeria Police will deploy a total of 34,657 personnel to the polling units, wards/LGA collation centers as well as other strategic locations. It is expected that four police personnel will be deployed at each polling unit, which then implies that 15,732 conventional police personnel will be required for the 3,933 polling units and voting points in the state,” Egbetokun stated.
Speaking at the event, the National Peace Committee chairman called for full commitment by politicians and parties to the letter and spirit of the accord.
While urging them to demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship, which he described as a key trait of good leadership,” he he commended members of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security for maintaining peace and security in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the candidates, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State and the APC governorship candidate promised to abide by the laws and regulations guiding the election process.
He hoped that the peaceful atmosphere could be sustained during and after the elections, urging other parties to follow suit.