1. Protocols to recognise the various guests present at the press conference.

2. We bring you warm greetings from the Board and Management of PROMAD. We are a non-profit and non-partisan organisation that combines evidence-based strategies with civic technology to bridge the gaps between citizens at grassroots communities and the government to strengthen accountability and participatory democracy for the efficient implementation of projects, programmes, and policies for sustainable development. With our headquarters in Gwarinpa, Abuja, we work around the country to empower state and non-state actors through evidence-based strategies and advocacy for accountability, participatory democracy, and development. 

3. This press conference is part of our efforts aimed at promoting citizens’s participation in the 2024 off-cycle Ondo State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, 16th November 2024, to elect a new governor, which remains a strategic and history-making affair. It is strategic because it will serve as a lens that will provide a view into the future of the state and determine whether the new leadership would be able to lead and provide the much-needed vision to consolidate, transform, and move the Sunshine State forward. On the other hand, it remains history-making because it will become part of the State’s history towards entrenching quality leadership for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and saving the citizens from hardship in the country.

4. To make this happen, the electorates in Ondo State, from the standpoint of informed minds, must do their parts, exercising the civic responsibilities bestowed on them by the Electoral Act 2022 and the Registration of Voters Act, which are in tandem with the fundamental rights provided for in Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended. 

5. As our contribution to the effort of informing, empowering, and mobilising eligible voters for the Ondo State governorship election, PROMAD, through its Election Analytics Project (EAP) and the Civic Matters, supported by the MacArthur Foundation and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), has embarked on a research publication for which we will be unveiling today. 

6. Earlier this month, we commenced a radio programme on Glow 99.1 FM Akure. The radio programme has proven to be a very good platform for reaching the grassroots, targeting audiences and electorates who are in their mid-ages and elderly voters in the state. According to INEC data, these age groups account for 64.59%, representing 1,326,117 out of 2,053,061 voters. 

7. We are also implementing strategic advocacies and communications on digital platforms to drive citizens’ participation in the governorship election key in targeting Ondo State electorates, especially the youth, students, and digital enthusiasts—representing 726,944 (35.41%) of the registered voters in the State.

Our Research Findings

8. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published that 2,053,061 voters have been registered and validated to vote in the election. This figure appears huge, but the state has a history of low participation and turnout during elections, at least in the last three governorship election cycles. Mobilising the electorates registered to vote, according to INEC, remains a huge task that needs to be done by stakeholders.

9. Increase in population & Voter Registration

In the three election cycles (2012, 2016 & 2020) analysed, just as the State’s population, the number of registered voters has moved from 1,638,950 in 2012 to 2,053,061 in 2024.

10. Declining Participation & Voting

Our analysis indicates that while voter registration had increased in each election cycle, it didn’t translate into more turnouts and votes on election days as accredited voters and total votes cast kept reducing in each election cycle.

11. Analysis of 2024 Voting Strength by Senatorial District 

Ondo Central 825,367 (40.20%)

Ondo South 673,445 (32.80%)

Ondo North   554,249     (27.00%)

12. Six LGAs to Watch in the 2024 Ondo Governorship Election 

The six local government areas (LGAs) to watch out for in the election include Akure South—314,710; Ondo West—190,666; Odigbo—-154,382; Ilaje—147,208; Owo—143,751; and Okitipupa—126,021 voters, respectively.

13.  Occupation of Registered Voters

The top four occupations of voters in the election include Students—694,938 (33.85%); Traders—324,006 (15.78%); Farmers & Fishermen—277,144 (13.50%) and Business Executives—218,598 (10.56%). Respectively.

14. Economy, Education and Infrastructure

As of September 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food inflation in Ondo is 37.20%, while out-of-school children in the State stood at 240,000 as of February 2024, according to Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). Also, according to NBS data analysed by Dataphyte, Ondo State occupies the 13th position with 5.7% unemployment, exceeding the national average. The implication is that the State Government needs to invest in job creation and provide the enabling environment for business and entrepreneurship to strive. In five years under the leadership of the late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Ondo State Government (ODSG) spent N223.97 billion as capital expenditures in sectors like education, health, infrastructure, security, and agriculture. The election should be an opportunity for citizens, residents, and stakeholders to assess the level of infrastructure in their communities and take strong positions on reinforcing their participation in the pursuit of accountability, transparency, and good governance to enhance the delivery of sustainable infrastructure that powers the productivity capacity of the people of the State. 

15. Political Parties and Candidates

According to INEC, seventeen (17) political parties with seventeen candidates are participating in the election. The 17 candidates are all men while the running mates are 16 males and 1 females. There is only one candidate with disabilities.

16. Key Call to Actions

To stem the tide against the decline in participation and voting trends:

• Citizens and electorates must rise to the challenge and reactivate their collective interests in the electoral process;

• Active participation and voting on election day will ensure that the governor of the State will no longer be elected by minority voters who come out on election day;

• Stakeholders must do their part to hold INEC, security agencies, and the government accountable for delivering a credible, free, and fair election on 16th November 2024—playing by the laws and rules guiding the election process must be upheld before, during, and after the election.

• We encourage CSOs, media organisations, political parties, and INEC to use the content of our research document to educate the electorates.

17. Conclusion

As the State goes to the polls on Saturday, 16th November 2024, with the seventeen candidates of political parties, PROMAD looks forward to a large turnout of electorates as a result of this effort of ours and credible efforts by other stakeholders in the electoral process towards a hitch-free, fair, and credible election.