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The South-West chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has thrown its weight behind Governor Seyi Makinde\u2019s demand for the redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in charge of Ondo State, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola.<\/p>\n

DAILY POST recalls that Makinde had told the chairman of the
\nIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Yakubu
\nMahmood, to immediately remove the REC, stating that she hails from Ondo State.<\/p>\n

Makinde had said, \u201cThis message is for the INEC national chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood; you must remove the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo State, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola; she is from Ondo State. What they did in Edo State, they cannot do in Ondo State.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will protest until she is removed. Bring another REC that will be fair and that will allow a level playing field. We, as PDP, are not
\nafraid of a fair contest. Remove her; otherwise, we will continue to
\nprotest.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Southwest PDP expressed its support for Governor
\nMakinde\u2019s call.<\/p>\n

According to the statement signed by Sanya Atofarati, on behalf of the party, the call was to ensure the credibility of the upcoming November governorship election in the state.<\/p>\n

He said that Babalola\u2019s alleged ties to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, made her unfit to oversee the upcoming election.<\/p>\n

He warned that any attempt to manipulate the election through Mrs. Babalola or other APC leaders would be met with strong resistance.<\/p>\n

Atofarati said, \u201cThe Southwest PDP remains resolute in their support for the redeployment of Mrs. Toyin Babalola, who is currently the
\nINEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo State, because she cannot be trusted to superintend the November governorship election due to her conspicuous ties with the ruling APC in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Ondo State, especially the downtrodden, are particularly concerned about the upcoming election, and INEC has the responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in the electoral processes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people will not tolerate any act of manipulation by a known ally of the State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and other APC leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is evident now that the people of Ondo State have resolved to vote for the PDP candidate, His Excellency, Agboola Ajayi, in the November election, and any attempt to impose a known manipulator through INEC will be strongly resisted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The PDP also claimed that \u201cMrs. Babalola was born in the Igbara Odo area; now Igbara Odo is in Ekiti South West of Old Ondo State.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the creation of Ekiti State in 1996, that area was now demarcated into Ekiti State. However, throughout her life, she grew up in Ondo State.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo let no one fool us; either she claims Ekiti State now or not; she was born, bred, and grew up in Ondo State.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be honourable for the INEC chairman to at least be honourable\u00a0 for once and do the right thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main question is: Must it be Mrs. Babalola? In a country of over 200 million talented individuals, why
\nis INEC finding it difficult to replace her?\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the INEC, also on Tuesday, via a post in its X account, responded to Makinde\u2019s comments, maintaining that the REC is not from Ondo State.<\/p>\n

However, the commission did not mention her state of origin.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the avoidance of doubt, Mrs. Babalola is not from Ondo State, in line with the Commission\u2019s policy not to deploy a REC to his or her
\nstate of origin,\u201d the commission stated.<\/p>\n

Ondo guber: S\u2019West PDP backs Makinde call for REC\u2019s removal<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The South-West chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has thrown its weight behind Governor Seyi Makinde\u2019s demand for the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[259,15,1803,490,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-makinde","category-news","category-ondo","category-pdp","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n