Akure, Nigeria
Dr Joseph Aremo, chairman of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC), says local government elections in the state have been shifted till January 18 next year.
Aremo, announced the new date at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Commission’s headquarters in Akure on Thursday.
Since last year August, the affairs of the 18 local government areas in the state have been headed by transition committees inaugurated by the State Government.
The commission had earlier rescheduled the elections to be held on 13th July 2024 but was postponed indefinitely.
According to Dr Aremo, the elections were never cancelled but rescheduled due to the non-compliance of political parties with the electoral guidelines and processes.
The ODIEC boss explained that the postponement of the elections became imperative as the commission was tired of continuous rescheduling.
He assured the residents of the state of ODIEC’s readiness to conduct free, fair and credible elections, noting that the exercise would be transparent.
He urged the political parties that had conducted primaries before the postponement to forward the validated list of candidates to the commission.
He further outlined the continuation of activities for the conduct of the elections, noting that the completion of political parties primaries and validation of candidates will take place from November 25 to December 7, 2024,
He also said December 9, this year is the last day to submit forms for particulars of candidates and the list of candidates by political parties.
Aremo further explained that political parties will substitute candidates from December 12 to December 13, while nomination forms will be collected and submitted from December 16 to December 18.
According to him, campaigns by political parties will kick off on December 23 and end at midnight on January 16, 2025.
The chairman added that the distribution of non-sensitive materials to the 18 local governments would take place from January 6 to January 10, 2025.
Olaoluwa Adesanya, chairman of the Ondo State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, expressed satisfaction with the ODIEC chairman’s presentation on the preparedness of the commission for the elections.
He promises that the political parties will cooperate with ODIEC to ensure a smooth conduct of the elections.
