With the last round of the 2023 polls set to be concluded in two days, the electorate in Ondo State is set to cast their ballots for members of the State House of Assembly on March 18.
Ondo is one of the eight states in the country where only the House of Assembly election will take place.
The electorates in the state will storm the 3,933 polling units and 203 political wards across the 18 local government areas of the state, where they will decide on the 26 individuals who will form the 10th Assembly of the state legislature.
As projected by DRILLOGIST, the All Progressives Congress, APC, won with a landslide during the presidential and National Assembly elections. It will not be different in the state assembly.
Recall that in 2019, the ruling APC won 23 seats, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was able to secure just two seats, and the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, got the remaining one seat at the hallowed chamber of the state legislature.
Despite the Labour Party, LP, polling surprises during the presidential and National Assembly polls in some states across the country, the party will not make any inroads into the assembly of the state as the supporters of the party, popularly known as “Obidients,” have not been visible in the state.
After the polls held two weeks ago, Tinubu of the APC cleared all 18 council areas of the state, polling 361,944 votes as against the PDP’s Atiku’s 115,467 votes and Peter Obi of the LP in the third position with 47,350 votes.
In a historic win, the APC also captured eight of the state’s nine House of Representatives seats in addition to all three senatorial seats.
The only PDP candidate that won is Festus Akingbaso, who is also a state assembly member representing Idanre.
Political observers predicted that voter turnout might be low due to the majority of the electorate’s fixation on the ruling party and the APC’s bold declarations made across the state.
Only six of the 26 lawmakers who would make up the 10th Assembly are running for reelection; the other 20 are newcomers.
They include Babatunde Fadare (Ileoluji/Okeigbo), Ojo Victor (Akoko South East), Tomide Akinribido (Ondo West constituency 1), Femi Olafusi (Ondo East constituency), and Akintola Olarewaju (Akoko North East constituency).
Favour Tomomowo, the only female member of the 9th Legislature, is running for Ilaje Constituency II under the ADC banner.
The remaining 22 candidates for the ruling APC are all men, with only four women.
The candidates for the party are: Mr. Akintola Olarenwaju (Okitipupa Constituency II), Ololade Gbegudu (Okitipupa Constituency II), Emmanuel Gbogi (Akoko South West 1), Oluwole Emmanuel Ogunmolasuyi (Owo Constituency 1), Simeon Toluwani Borokini (Akure South I), Abitogun Rotimi (Akure South II) (Akure North).
Others are: Akomolafe Temitope (Ifedore constituency), Ayebusiwa Odunayo (Okitipupa I), Oladapo John Biola (Ondo West II), Fayemi Olawunmi Annah (Ilaje II), Mohammed Taofik Oladele (Akoko North West II), Allen Messiah Oluwatoyin (Ese Odo), and Alaye Adesin (Odigbo II).
It will be a direct fight between the ruling APC and the PDP, given the performance of the APC in the last elections.
Come Saturday, the margin between APC and PDP might be close, but indications show that the APC might win, if not all, 24 out of the 26 assembly seats in the state because the candidates and the incumbent governor, Akeredolu, aren’t leaving any stone unturned in seeking votes across the state.
