KDI predicts free, credible Ondo Governorship election

By Jethro Ibileke

Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), a civil society organisation focused on election monitoring, has expressed confidence that the Ondo State governorship election on Saturday will be free, fair, and credible.

Speaking on Friday, the Executive Director of KDI, Bukola Idowu, described the election as potentially one of the best conducted in Nigeria in recent times.

Idowu attributed his optimism to the extensive preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), particularly the training of ad hoc staff and the logistics arrangements.

“Our expectation at KDI is that this election is likely to be the best in recent times. The planning and preparation by INEC have been top-notch,” Idowu said.

He revealed that INEC ad hoc staff underwent 13 weeks of training and that election materials had been deployed to Registration Area Centres (RAC) as of Thursday.

Idowu added, “According to the State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, funds and other logistics required for the election have been fully provided. We expect early commencement of voting and minimal logistical challenges.”

He warned, however, that any logistical setbacks on election day would likely indicate sabotage.

Commenting on the readiness of political parties, Idowu criticised the poor preparation of some contestants. Out of the 17 political parties participating, he noted that only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had deployed nearly full coverage of polling unit agents—100% and 99% respectively. Meanwhile, three parties had failed to deploy agents to any polling unit.

KDI’s observations and expectations set the stage for a closely watched electoral process in Ondo State.