A group of youths in Ondo State have stormed the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Maitama, Abuja, demanding for the the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Oluwatoyin Babalola in the state. The governorship election is slated to be held on November 16, 2024, across the state.
A viral video on X showed the youths carrying drums and placards, singing and dancing while demanding the re-deploymnt of the REC.
Waving banners and placards with messages such as “Mahmood: Redeploy Babalola Now” and “We Don’t Want a Repeat of Edo Fiasco,” the demonstrators blocked the entrance to the national secretariat, demanding a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to voice their concerns.
The protest comes a week after the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, made a similar request, citing concerns over Babalola’s alleged links to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Speaking at a Peoples Democratic Party campaign rally in Akure, Makinde argued that Babalola’s background in Ondo may compromise the neutrality of the electoral process.
This is as the Independent National Electoral Commission announced that 55,859 Permanent Voter Cards were collected in the state ahead of the Ondo governorship election.
INEC, in a statement on Tuesday released by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun noted that the PVCs were collected over a five-day period, representing 62.2 per cent of the 89,777 available cards.
Olumekun noted that this was the highest percentage of PVCs collected in such a short period since the Continuous Voter Registration process was introduced in 2015.