The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) has scheduled elections for the 18 local government areas and 203 wards of the state for January 18, 2025.
Dr. Joseph Aremo, Chairman of the commission, announced the new date during a stakeholders’ meeting at the commission’s headquarters in Akure, the state capital.
The elections, which were initially set for July 13, 2024, were postponed indefinitely. Dr. Aremo clarified that the elections were not canceled but rescheduled due to political parties’ non-compliance with electoral guidelines and processes.
He noted that the postponement was necessary to avoid repeated rescheduling and assured the public that ODIEC is committed to conducting free, fair, and transparent elections.
Dr. Aremo called on political parties that held primaries before the postponement to submit the validated list of candidates to the commission.
He outlined the timeline for upcoming election activities, including the completion of party primaries and candidate validation from November 25 to December 7, 2024.
He also stated that the deadline for submitting candidate particulars and lists is December 9, 2024.
Candidate substitutions by political parties will occur from December 12 to 13, and the collection and submission of nomination forms will take place from December 16 to 18.
According to Jim, campaigns by political parties will kick off on December 23 and end at midnight on January 16, 2025.
The chairman added that the distribution of non-sensitive materials to the 18 local governments would take place from January 6 to January 10, 2025.
The Chairman of the Ondo State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Olaoluwa Adesanya, expressed satisfaction with the ODIEC chairman’s presentation on the preparedness of the commission for the elections.
He promises that the political parties will cooperate with ODIEC to ensure a smooth conduct of the elections