The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress winner of the Saturday’s Ondo State Governorship election.
In his congratulations message, President Bola Tinubu praised Aiyedatiwa for his victory at poll.
Tinubu, in a statement conveyed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Sunday urged candidates dissatisfied with the outcome of the election to explore the opportunities provided by the judicial system to seek redress on areas of conflict.
He commended all stakeholders for the peaceful conduct of the process.
The President also commended other candidates of the 17 political parties for their maturity and sense of purpose demonstrated during the campaigns and the election.
According to Tinubu, the success of the polls is attributed to the civility in the state.
He enjoined the political actors to allow their orderly conduct to permeate the post-election activities and processes.
The statement reads, “The President believes the Ondo State election was another litmus test of the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission, affirming that the electoral body justified the confidence of the people with early preparations, deployment of staff and materials, and handling of the electoral process.
“The President commends INEC for the efficiency of uploading more than 98 per cent of results on the same day of the elections.
“He extends his appreciation to the Nigerian Police Force, National Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Youth Service Corps, the military and other security outfits for their professionalism in maintaining peace and order”.
At exactly 2:30 pm on Sunday at the INEC collation centre in Akure, the Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the election.
Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent governor of the Sunshine State polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.