The Ondo State branch of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticized Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde for requesting the reassignment of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola.
Makinde made this request during the kickoff of the Peoples Democratic Party’s campaign in Akure on Tuesday, in preparation for the governorship election scheduled for November 16th.
He appealed to INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to move Babalola, a sentiment that was supported by the PDP candidate, Agboola Ajayi, who expressed concerns about her being from Ondo State.
In a statement released on Wednesday, APC Publicity Secretary Alex Kalejaiye criticized Makinde’s comments as unwarranted, emphasizing that Mrs. Babalola has shown “integrity, competence, and capacity” in her position since taking office.
The statement, titled ‘Ondo Not an Appendage of Oyo,’ advised Makinde to stay out of Ondo State’s political affairs.
The statement read in part: “The REC has demonstrated integrity and competence since her appointment. It is ludicrous that Governor Makinde would make such demands when he had no influence in her posting to Ondo. Ondo State and the electoral body are not appendages of his empire, where he presides as an administrator.”
The APC also criticized Makinde’s remarks, labelling them as “unsolicited advice” to the people of Ondo and rejecting his caution about selling their votes.
“Ondo people are politically sophisticated and act based on conviction, not as cheaply as Mr Makinde suggests,” the statement added.
In response to the APC’s criticism, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, came to Makinde’s defense, describing the APC’s reaction as “pedestrian.”
Peretei argued that Makinde, as a major stakeholder in the PDP, had every right to raise concerns about the REC’s impartiality.
“The Ondo APC is once again displaying its usual pedestrian approach in reacting to Governor Makinde’s call for a free and fair election,” Peretei said.
