The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming November 16 election in Ondo State, Hon Agboola Ajayi has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the conduct of credible elections in the state.
Ajayi said the conduct of a credible, free, fair, and transparent election would discourage litigations after the election.
In a statement issued by Ajayi advised the electoral umpire, to make the PDP’s primary election in the state as a model to work with. He said the primary election was adjudged the most transparent election to have taken place in the country in recent times.
According to him, the electoral body, should be challenged by the standard of the PDP primary election and use it as the yardstick to conduct elections, including the pending November 16 Governorship election in the state.
His words “By doing so, INEC would have been able to conduct an election devoid of litigations and other excuses. The Ondo PDP primary election can not be challenged by anyone because it was conducted transparently.”
The PDP candidate also appealed to the electoral body, to embark on a vigorous enlightenment programme to sensitise the voting public to take advantage of its ongoing registration exercise and to make owners of the over two hundred thousand uncollected PVCs in its custody to collect them.
The former Deputy Governor emphasised the need for INEC to embark on an aggressive media campaign for the public to embrace all the laudable efforts it is making to conduct a plausible election by November 16.
Ajayi canvassed that INEC
should continue with its voter registration exercise, till at least a month before the election, declaring that the twenty thousand newly registered voters declared so far, is a bit low, even as he established optimism, that more people would still come out to register for the election, as they will want to have a say in who governs them in the State.
Ajayi who also advised security agencies to brace up and discharge their responsibilities in absolute terms, registered that, the election will be free and fair If INEC conducts it according to its guidelines because INEC “has good laws that could make any election credible if strictly adhered to”.