March 18, (THEWILL) – Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has commended the residents of the state for turning out en masse and conducting themselves in an orderly manner to cast their votes for the Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections.
He spoke after casting his vote at his Ita-Osanyin Ward 3, Unit 2, Iperu, in Ikenne Local Government Area at 11:09 am.
Abiodun equally commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for ensuring that voting materials are made available, and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) are working very well.
He said, “I am the governor, as well as a candidate and what I have simply done is to come here like everybody else, presented my PVC, accredited and I cast my vote.
“From what I have seen here and heard from the 236 wards across the State, people have turned out en mass and are casting their votes. The whole process is going on relatively well.
“I want to appreciate the INEC though this election was postponed by a week. I hope they have been able to resolve the issues surrounding the voting and also been able to reprogramme the BVAS so that the election can go on smoothly.
“With what I have seen so far, the election is peaceful and until we get through the vote, I cannot really comment what would happen at the end”, the governor noted.
He, however, called on those who are afraid to come out for fear of being harassed, not to entertain any fear, but come out and exercise their franchise as their civic responsibility, assuring that adequate security has been put in place to guarantee their safety.
While fielding questions from newsmen, an Observer from Global Watch, detailed to monitor the election in Ogun State, Alhaji Mogagi Olaniyan, said the election has been peaceful with impressive turn out of voters, adding that security arrangements have been perfect.
“INEC has improved from the previous elections. INEC materials arrived early, the BVAS is working accordingly as there is no malfunctioning of BVAS. I give kudos to the people and INEC”, Olaniyan added.
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