The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said Saturday’s governorship
election in Ondo State was marred by irregularities and widespread
violence that either scared away many voters or significantly affected
voting in many polling units.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, from the the party’s Election Situation
Room, ACN said the violence was caused by inadequate security, as most
of the security agents deployed for the election were only able to
effectively cover the urban areas, inadvertently leaving the rural areas
thinly secured and paving the way for thugs to have a free rein.
The statement also stated that the delay and inadequacy of election
materials and the absence of election officials in many polling units,
especially in the rural areas, did not create a conducive environment
for a free, fair and credible election.
The party said long before voting started, it had been warning about
the violence in many areas, including Idanre, Okitipupa and Owo, where
some top government functionaries in the State were allegedly arrested
after they were found with six AK-47 guns in the early hours of the day.
ACN said the general impression about the election being largely
devoid of violence stemmed from the fact that media coverage was
concentrated on the urban areas, whereas most of the violence was
perpetrated in the rural areas.
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