Governor Olusegun Mimiko

James Sowole

Exactly a month to the October 20 gubernatorial election in Ondo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday presented soft copies of registered voters of the state to the 13 political parties who are fielding candidates for the election.

The document presented at a public forum in Akure, the state capital, by INEC’s Director of Voter Registry, Mr. Emmanuel Akem, contained the list and particulars of 1,654,205 registered voters.

Akem stated that the commission acted in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which stipulated that lists of registered voters be published 30 days before election.
Presenting the details to members of public, Akem explained that 1, 646,666 people were registered for the April 2011 election.

He said 7, 539 voters, made up of those who had been registered but could not vote last year because of certain technical hitches and those who transferred their voter cards, had been added in the register.

While analysing details of the information contained in the register, Akem said female voters constituted 50.20 per cent while 49.80 percent of the entire voters are male.

He said about 65 per cent of the voters were below 35 years made up mainly of students, a situation he said was similar to that of Edo State.
Akem also said, civil servants, artisans, and traders also constituted the bulk of the voters.
He appealed to members with claims and objections on the documents to approach the state office of INEC with their claims and objections immediately.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr. Akin Orebiyi, on the occasion presented forms of those who will serve as agents to representatives of the various political parties on the occasion.
He said, “Leadership of the political parties are expected to scrutinise the register and raise objection in case any fault is discovered.”

Meanwhile, Governor Olusegun Mimiko Thursday  took a swipe at opposition parties in the state describing their  attempt at downplay his government’s numerous developmental projects as an admission of their selfishness.

Mimiko who spoke in Igbara-Oke in Ifedore Local Government Area in continuation of his re-election campaign tour, described his contenders as emergency governorship candidates who are out only to contest for selfish reasons.

Specifically, the governor, who also inaugurated several projects in the local government, scored himself high in all areas of governance, saying that his government had fulfilled its promises to the people of the state.

He noted that any government which cannot impact positively on the lives of its people within a short was not worth its salt.

“We are in government for the people and to ensure that the lives of our people are better for it. Any government which does not do anything about the children and mothers health is not a good government.

“Cases of children dying were rampant because of inadequate health care services. But in Ondo State today, there are no more Kokumos (ogbanje) in Ondo State. Thus, when we got to office, we started Abiye (Safe motherhood) Programme here in Ifedore. And in three years, Nigeria, and the whole world has seen what we are doing; today, our Mother and Child Hospital model is not only the best in Nigeria but a template for Africa and from the world, accolades have come.

“A child who went to school up till secondary school level without having seen computer is lost and cannot compete with his peer elsewhere; that is why we are building mega primary schools with all facilities: computers, health centre, agric farm, music room, standard sport fields, art room amongst other.

“So those who said we should not establish mega schools are not only selfish but are your enemies because they did not send their children to public primary schools, but they don’t want the children of the poor to go to the kind of schools theirs went to.

“That is why they said we should not build mega schools and that we should continue with the kind of hovels and poultry type of primary schools they built and called schools in this 21st century. But to us, that is how enlightened they are. But in our own case, we have mega enlightenment and we shall continue to build more mega schools, more mega water, more mega hospitals, more mega markets.

“They said our modern markets are mere waste of money, that our mothers are not entitled to it that we should stop it and allow the women to trade in those shacks. Indeed, they promised to scrap these markets forgetting the fact that most of them were sent to schools from money made from the markets but because they are big men and women now; our mothers are no longer important to them.
Please, don’t vote for them because they are selfish and do not want your progress at heart’, Mimiko stated.

Mimiko stated that what the electorate need to do is to vote for the LP on October 20 so that the good work can continue.