POLITICAL parties have stepped up preparations for gubernatorial and state Houses of Assembly as well as the remainder of federal legislative elections, which hold on Tuesday next week.In Ogun State, a youth group in the West Senatorial District yesterday endorsed Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka as the sole governorship candidate of Yewa-Awori people in Tuesdays election. He is the gubernatorial candidate of Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN).The decision was said to have been taking at a meeting held yesterday by the youth to review the political situation in the state and the need for the Yewas to present a common candidate for the election.A statement in Abeokuta yesterday by Mr. Oladele Kayode, Mr. Saliu Oyedele, Wale Lawal, Jide Adeotan and Raheem Ajayi stressed that the decision was arrived at because Isiaka is more acceptable not only to Ogun West, but also to other parts of the state.The governorship candidate of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gen. Adetunji Idowu Olurin (rtd), yesterday rounded off his campaign at a rally in Abeokuta with a pledge to reduce school fees in all tertiary institutions if he wins.The rally was attended by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the PDP National Vice Chairman of the South-West, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, Chief Titi Ajanaku, Mrs. Lola Abiola-Edewor and Chief Titi Oseni, former Speaker of the State House of Assembly.The presence of Mrs. Oseni and Mrs. Abiola-Edewor, who are well-known PPN stalwarts, excited the crowd.But with the continued inability of two indigenes of Yewaland (Olurin and Isiaka) to agree on whom between them would step down for the other, some other youths in the area have threatened to shift their support to Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).Also, youths under the umbrella of the Amosun Youth Solidarity Vanguard (AYSV) have volunteered to embark on a door-to-door campaign to mobilise support for the ACN candidate.Spokesman for the group, Mr. Adeyemi Adefemi, said over 2,000 youth volunteers who are sympathetic to Amosuns aspiration have been enlisted for the project.The ACN has deplored an alleged remark by Governor Gbenga Daniel that the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections will be tough as reported in the media. The party in a statement by its Publicity Secretary in Ogun State, Mr. Sola Lawal, said the alleged comment was in bad taste and capable of throwing the state into chaos.And following what the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) tagged as clever rigging devices in the presidential elections, its governorship candidate, Veteran Olawale Okunniyi, has announced his resolve to set up an Election Vigilance Squad (EVS).He said the mandate defence team, made up of youths, students and self-determination groups, will be tasked to neutralise what he termed as the tactical intimidation of opponents and to safeguard CPCs votes.In Delta State, the Secretary of the PDP chapter and former Commissioner for Sports, Solomon Ogba, told The Guardian that the race will be one-way traffic for Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan based on what he termed as his wide acceptability by the people.But the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) governorship candidate, Great Ogboru, sees himself as the man to beat in the race, saying that it is the end of the road for the PDP.Ogbas view was shared by Ferguson Onwo, a former council chairman and national co-ordinator of a group, After Uduaghan Uduaghan Again, who yesterday in Oleh addressed a gathering under the auspices of United Action for Credible Elections, calling on the people to vote for the governor.But a group, Women Awake, through its president for Ughelli North Local Council Branch, Mrs. Efakpokire Akpobome, called on Deltans to vote for the ACN governorship candidate, Chief Ovie Omo-Agege.Already, the Delta State Command of the Nigeria Navy (NNS), Delta, yesterday displayed its readiness to ensure that the governorship election in Delta State, especially in the riverine communities, was without hitches.The navy massed a large fleet on the Warri River yesterday, including a military helicopter and for several hours showed off its might.The large fleet moved in an orderly fashion for many hours through some communities in the riverine areas.The commanding officer of NNS Delta, Commodore Henry Babalola said the exercise was to reassure the citizenry that the Navy was ready to ensure that the governorship and House Assembly and the postponed National Assembly election would take place in a peaceful environment.
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