Following the call by some youths in Ondo State that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in the state, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, be redeployed ahead of the November 16 governorship election, the REC has described the allegations raised against her as false.
Babalola stated that she does not have a preferred candidate in the oncoming poll.
She noted that she never had any clandestine meetings with Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as well as the leadership of the APC.
Youths in the state, under the banner of the Ondo State Youth Vanguard, on Wednesday, during a protest to the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, accused the REC of having affiliation with the APC and that she had been secretly meeting with Aiyedatiwa ahead of the November 16 governorship poll.
While dismissing the allegations raised in a petition submitted to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, by the protesting youths, the REC stated that she had only been relating with all political parties.
She said, “It is not true; I didn’t hold any clandestine meeting with the governor or any member of any political party.
“In INEC, we relate with all political parties; I have been operating open door policies to all, and I don’t have any preferred candidate for the election. I am not a member of any political party.
“In this election, we will ensure every vote counts, and I promise, there won’t be any form of bias; the election will be free, fair, and credible.”