Ondo guber: Protest rocks INEC headquarters, reason, details emerge

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Scores of Ondo demonstrators stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja on Tuesday, October 29, demanding the immediate redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state.

They waved banners and placards with messages such as “Mahmood: Redeploy Babalola Now” and “We Don’t Want a Repeat of Edo Fiasco. "

As reported by The Punch, the demonstrators blocked the entrance to the national secretariat, demanding a meeting with INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu to voice their concerns.

The protest comes a week after the Governor Seyi Makindeof Oyo state, made a similar request, citing concerns over Babalola’s alleged links to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Speaking at a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign rally in Akure, Makinde argued that Babalola’s background in Ondo state may compromise the neutrality of the electoral process.

Supporting the governor’s stance, Ayo Adeyemi, Leader of the demonstrators and Convener of the Ondo Youth League, told journalists that while they had no personal issues with the REC, they could not risk any potential bias in the upcoming election.

Adeyemi stated:

“Redeploying Babalola is in the best interest of our people and INEC to ensure a free and credible election.”

He added:

“We urgently demand that INEC redeploy Ondo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state. We respect her accomplishments, especially as a woman who has risen to such a prominent position. But for a free and fair election in Ondo, we can’t have Babalola overseeing the process. She grew up here, knows nearly everyone in the public sector, and is highly familiar with the state.“Babalola hasn’t done anything wrong; we simply want her reassigned to another state to avoid any possible conflict of interest.”“We’re not here to criticise INEC’s operations; we just want an unbiased REC to oversee the upcoming governorship election.”

The leadership of the PDP confirmed the development and shared a video on its X page.

Watch as the video below:

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Source: Legit.ng