THE governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has restated his vision to transform Ondo State through agricultural revolution, massive infrastructural development, construction of access roads in the rural areas, better comprehensive healthcare for all segments of the society and provision of employment, among others, with promise to create 30,000 jobs in the first 100 days in office.Akeredolu spoke when the Consul General of the United States of America in Nigeria, Jeffrey Hawkins, accompanied by the Political/Economic Section Chief, Rolf Olson, visited his campaign office in Akure.Meanwhile, the allegation that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State, Olusola Oke, has been barred from holding public office after being indicted of corrupt practices, has been debunked by his campaign group.According to a statement by the Director of Media, Publicity and Strategy of the Akeredolu Campaign Organisation, Idowu Ajanaku, the U.S. consul said his visit was to 'gauge the pulse of the candidates in the forthcoming elections and level of preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).'He said he was excited about Akeredolu's candidature being former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, hoping that he would replicate what Governor Babatunde Fashola is doing in Lagos, if elected on October 20.'Akeredolu expressed his confidence in the level of preparedness of the ACNto win the election. He said he had almost completed the tour of all the wards and polling units in the state where he interacted with the people. He decried alleged neglect of the people, especially the rural areas, which he said the American consul could verify independently.Akeredolu expressed confidence in the Prof. Attahiru Jega-led INEC, based on its performance in previous elections, especially the recent one in Edo State. 'I expect that they will replicate same in Ondo State.'He, however, expressed fears over the role the police have played so far, alleging that members of the police hierarchy had been compromised. He urged all stakeholders to ensure a free and fair election.A group known as Forum For Transparency in Governance (FTG) alleged on Monday that Oke was not eligible to contest the election 'based on the security report that was responsible for the candidate's rejection as a nominee on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which prevents him from holding any public office.'The group, in a statement signed by its President, Deji Awodunmila, in Akure said the PDP flagbearer is not eligible to contest the election for the same reason his nomination as the Ondo State's representative on the NDDC board in 2005 was rejected following a letter from the security agency responsible for the screening of the nominees.But Oke's Special Adviser on Media, Kunle Adebayo, in a statement, debunked the allegation of the FTG and its sponsors.'For the avoidance of doubt, Olusola Oke was thoroughly screened by all the security agencies, particularly the State Security Service (SSS), INEC and the PDP. His records in all the offices he has worked were painstakingly examined.'For the purpose of emphasis, he was adjudged clean and pronounced fit and qualified to contest the 2012 governorship election in Ondo State. All the projects he executed while in OSOPADEC and NDDC are still standing to his credit till date.'In a related development, 12 persons, allegedly from the camp of opposition politicians, have been arraigned in courts at two locations in the state over alleged involvement in acts capable of undermining the peace and conduct of the forthcoming election.Ten of the accused were said to be members of the PDP in Owo Council and were brought before an Akure Magistrate's Court on charges of disrupting public peace during a rally organised by the party in the council last week.Two others described as agents of the ACN, Mutiu Olagboye and Joseph Okechukwu, were arraigned before an Akure Chief Magistrate Court for allegedly buying voters registration cards from members of the public.
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