Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is firmly in the lead in the Ondo governorship election, amassing 301,113 votes from 15 local government areas announced so far by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent governor, has claimed victory in all 15 LGAs, leaving his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), trailing with 97,051 votes—a margin of 204,062 votes.
The LGAs whose results have been declared include: Akoko North-East, Akoko South-West, Akoko South-East, Akoko North-West, Idanre, Ifedore, Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo, Owo, Ondo East, Ondo West, Irele, Akure South, Akure North, Ose, and Okitipupa.
To secure victory, a candidate must win the majority of votes and garner at least 25% of the votes in no fewer than two-thirds (12) of the state’s 18 LGAs.
Aiyedatiwa has already achieved this threshold, with results from only three LGAs—Ilaje, Odigbo, and Ese-Odo—yet to be announced.
Significantly, both candidates are from the remaining LGAs: Aiyedatiwa from Ilaje and Ajayi from Ese-Odo.
However, the overall voter turnout suggests that the results from the remaining areas are unlikely to alter the election trajectory.
Earlier in the day, INEC had announced results from 13 LGAs before taking a three-hour recess.
Collation resumed later, with two additional LGAs declared in the early hours of Sunday.
Governor Aiyedatiwa’s commanding lead places him in a strong position to secure re-election, as Ondo State awaits the final announcement of results.
