Ondo declares Friday public holiday ahead of guber poll

Ahead of Saturday’s election, the Ondo State Government have declared tomorrow (Friday) a public holiday for workers in the state.

The public holiday according to the state government is to allow workers travel to their respective communities and exercise their civic rights on the day of election (Saturday, November 16, 2024).

The announcement was made in a press release signed by the permanent secretary in the office of the head of service, O. F. Ayodele on Thursday.

In the statement, the state government instructed all accounting officers to send the information to their respective ministries, departments, and agencies.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday distributed sensitive materials to all 18 local government areas of the ahead of the Saturday’s governorship election.

The distribution exercise which held at Akure branch of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was monitored by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, Oluwatoyin Babalola.

During the exercise, Babalola assured the residents of the state, political parties and all stakeholders of the commission’s readiness to conduct a transparent, free and fair election.

According to her, the early distribution of the sensitive materials was a clear show of the Commission’s readiness to conduct the election.

“You can see that the distribution exercise is going on very smoothly. The farthest local governments have started moving to their local governments. All the other local governments, they have received their materials, they are checking and they are loading the vehicles,” she stated.

The Ondo state election is a highly contested election as 17 political parties are participating with the incumbent Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa contesting as the flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC).