This is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Akure by Mr Donald Ojogo, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation.

The statement said that consequently, a 25 member planning committee has been constituted for the inauguration of Akeredolu and his deputy as governor for a second term and deputy governor respectively.

According to him, the committee is expected to come up with an acceptable programme of events for the inauguration and ensure its success.

Ojogo said that Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the deputy governor designate, was chairman of the committee.

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Mrs Akeredolu disclosed this on Thursday at the virtual 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Cancer Society with the theme: “Fate of cancer control in the post COVID-19 era”.

She said the fate of cancer control in the post COVID-19 era would be determined by the ability of medical professionals to adapt to the current realities taking advantage of Tele-medicine portals (including audio and video facilities) and sustained effective leadership and political will by cancer organisations and government, respectively.

“This will help to avoid future occurrences where patients couldn’t access medical care due to uncontrollable circumstances as witnessed during the COVID-19 lockdown”.

According to her, Tele-health has the potential of reducing the financial burden on cancer patients and their families by reducing long distance travels and bills for stay in hotels and guest houses.

“We must sustain a coordinated approach in the fight against cancer through effective leadership.

“To achieve this, we must ask ourselves these questions: What is our purpose as NGOs? What is the purpose of the Nigerian Cancer Society?

“If we must continue to recognise cancer as a leading life threatening disease in Nigeria, and attract the support of the government, the importance of credible and strategic leadership cannot be overemphasised

“For many years, we have yearned for a Nigerian Cancer Society that unites and leads all cancer organisations in Nigeria, yet the supposedly umbrella organisation has not fully achieved this aim.

“Indeed, if we must be successful in the post COVID-19 cancer fight, the Nigerian Cancer Society must step up and lead the way.

“The pandemic has taken us back in our efforts to combat cancer globally. In Nigeria, we urgently need to take advantage of new technologies in Tele-medicine in our approach to patients’ presentation, diagnosis and treatment” She said.

The Governor’s wife noted that with the new executive council, and hopefully with fresh ideas, the society would be rebuilt to deal with challenges in cancer control to improve access to care and survival.

Mrs Akeredolu however commended the Nigerian Cancer Society (NCS) for putting the virtual meeting together, even in these peculiar times.

Our correspondent reports that Mrs Betty Akeredolu is the founder, Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN) and spoke at the event on behalf of all Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

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Our correspondent reports that Akeredolu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), emerged winner of the election after defeating Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party and Agboola Ajayi of the Zenith Labour Party.

He polled 292,830 votes as against Jegede’s 195,791 and Ajayi’s 69, 127.

Receiving the certificate, Akeredolu pledged to treat all citizens equally, regardless of their party affiliations, adding, however, that he would not run for any elective position in the state again.

He said that his administration would continue to work for the entire state, regardless of the area that voted or that did not vote for him during the election.

“I want to pledge to the people of Ondo State that, with the confidence reposed in us, we will continue to do our best to serve them in a way they have never seen before.

“Those who voted and those who did not, we will treat everybody equally. We will continue to work for the state, irrespective of political affiliations,” he said.

Akeredolu, who said that the certificate would be his last in the state, dedicated the victory to the people of the state, his deputy and his immediate family.

“I promise you that I will not run for any elective position in the state again, even the senate.

So this victory is not for me alone but also, for the people of Ondo State.

“And also, it is a victory in which a few things have been established for generations to come. It is clear that no other person has ever won in 15 local government areas before in the state; it is unprecedented,” he said.

Earlier, Dr Rufus Akeju, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, explained that the presentation of certificates of return to winners of the election to the office of the governor and deputy governor was in line with the provisions of Section 75(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended).

According to Akeju, the law says that the certificate of return shall be issued within seven days to every candidate who has won an election under the act, adding “it is the spirit of this law that we are fulfilling today”.

He reassured all stakeholders in the electoral process that INEC would continue to build on the high level of credibility it had achieved so far and would not do anything to undermine it.

The REC also urged stakeholders to continue to cooperate with INEC in its efforts at consolidating and deepening the country’s democratisation process by playing their roles, in line with the constitution and other regulations of the commission.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the governor-elect and the deputy governor-elect to be magnanimous in victory by using the renewed mandate given to them by the good people of the
Sunshine State to serve them diligently and truthfully.

“This will go a long way in reviving the lost spirit of participation by majority of voters who had lost hope in our democracy as a result of seeming lack of governance with direct impact on their lives,” he said.

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Sanwo-Olu said this while speaking with journalists at the presidential wing of Murtala Muhammed Airport, on arrival to Lagos from Ondo State, where he had led his party, APC, to win the gubernatorial election as the party’s campaign chairman.

Sanwo-Olu was the chairman of the APC Campaign Council constituted by the party’s national leadership to lead the second term campaign of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

APC won the governorship contest with 292,830 votes, defeating the closest rival – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which garnered 195,780 votes.

He said that the success of his task in Ondo State was a promise fulfilled to his political party.

According to him, the APC candidate in the election deserved the victory, having achieved most of his campaign promises in the first term.

”I am personally excited, as Chairman of the APC Campaign Council in the Ondo State election, that the candidate who emerged victorious in the election is our candidate.

”Having visited the state prior to the electioneering, I can confirm that Arakunrin Akeredolu has really worked and he is currently working for the people to deserve this victory.

”People call Akeredolu a talk-and-do governor, meaning whatever he promises, he delivers, whether in terms of infrastructure or general development in Ondo State.

”Based on his track record in governance, our candidate was an easier product to sell in the election.

” So, we fought a good fight in the exercise. At the end the day, Ondo people spoke through the ballot and they have spoken well,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said the outcome of the election reflected the will of the Ondo people, who were the sole winner that emerged from the election.

He said that APC went into the contest with the intention to unite and not to divide the people of the state, as the party saw the outcome as ”no victor, no vanquished”.

The governor commended President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the needed leadership and creating an enabling environment for the people to choose their leaders without violence.

He said that in spite pockets of skirmishes that tainted the process, that the exercise was largely free, fair and credible.

Sanwo-Olu also commended the national leadership of APC and governors who supported the effort to return Akeredolu for the second term.

”The victory in Ondo State is a demonstration that people still believe in the leadership being provided by our party across the country.

”We accept the outcome of the election with humility. This victory is not be solely attributed to one person, but to the entire members of the APC campaign team, which I was chosen to be leader,” he said.

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Akeredolu, who was leading in nine of the12 local governments earlier announced, has won in three more local goverment areas of Ose, Okitipupa, and Ondo West.

Our correspondent reports that Akeredolu scored 15,152 votes in Ose Local Government to beat Eyitayo Jegede of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Agboola Ajayi of the ZLP, who scored 8,421 and 1,083 votes respectively.

Also in Okitipupa LGA, Akeredolu scored 19,266 votes, Jegede scored 10,367 votes while Agboola closely followed with 10,120 votes.

In Ondo West Local Government, Akeredolu scored 15,977, Jegede scored 10,627, and Agboola got 10,159

The nine local governments earlier won by APC were Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo, Irele, Akoko North East, Akoko South-West, Akoko North West, Ondo East, Owo, Idanre, and Akoko South East.

PDP won in Akure South, Akure North, and Ifedore LGAs, while ZLP did not win in any local government.

It was also reported that as at the time of filing this report results from only three of the 18 local government areas of the State were being awaited by the electoral umpire.

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This is contained in a statement signed by the Director-General of his campaign council, Mr. Victor Olabimtan, on Friday in Akure, the state capital.

Akeredolu appealed to the people to conduct themselves in a responsible manner to prove all who had predicted violence-marred polls wrong.

Akeredolu said he had done his best for the people and had left the rest to God and the people of the state to decide.

“Good people of Ondo State, I thank you for your support thus far,” he said as he remarked that his campain activitied had officially come to an end.

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Mr Donald Ojogo, Commissioner for Information and Orientation, in a statement on Thursday in Akure said the decision was became necessary in view of the fact that some people will have to travel to their home towns for the election.

According to Ojogo, Friday is specifically approved as such to enable workers to have enough time to embark on adequate measures aimed at preparing themselves for the election.

“This includes necessary trips by workers to areas where they are registered to cast their votes.

“Eligible voters are advised to be law abiding throughout the period of the exercise.

“They are equally encouraged to take maximum advantage of the adequate security measures already put in place to exercise their voting rights without any fear of harassment, intimidation and molestation.

“Governor Akeredolu wishes all stakeholders, especially our workers in the public service, the best of luck as they exercise their civic responsibility,” the commissioner said.

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Buhari made this known in his zoom message at the final campaign rally of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday in Akure.

The president, who appreciated the governorship aspirants of the party for accepting the outcome of its primaries, and decided to work for the party, said their patriotic and selfless conduct will serve as an enduring reference point in party politics.

President Buhari said “I have no doubt that our candidate is a good brand for the APC to market. I am particularly delighted by his original approach to governance.

“His performance within the limits of available resources is endearing. He has taken the state to a new level and on the path of prosperity.

“I inaugurated some of the projects executed by his administration which are enduring legacies.

“Today, I declare that Akeredolu deserves to be re-elected to consolidate on the good works of his first term,” he said.

The president, therefore, assured the electorate that adequate security has been put in place to ensure that the election is peaceful, transparent and fair.

Buhari, who also commended the APC family for their “uncommon display of brotherliness and unity”, said the collective desire of party leaders to entrench democracy accordingly was regarded as the basic ingredient to electoral process.

“It is my hope that the electorates will follow laid-down rules and regulations in accordance with the laws guiding the electoral process.

“I wish you all successful and peaceful election. Vote right, vote wisely, vote for continuity and progress, vote APC,” President Buhari said.

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It was reported that the National Caretaker Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mai Mala Buni, confirmed the endorsement after he presented the candidate to the president at the State House.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the endorsement, Buni expressed optimism that the APC candidate would win the October governorship poll in Ondo.

He said: “We are here today to present our candidate to the President being the leader of the party. That has always been the practice. We cannot kickstart our campaign without his endorsement.

“The President promptly endorsed him and commended him for his efforts in the last four years because the President is aware of this transformation and development that he has been able to bring to Ondo State in the last four years.

“APC is the only party that can win election in Ondo not only because APC is the only party but because the Governor there has performed and the people of Ondo are seeing for themselves and have agreed that yes, he is the only man they can trust for the next four years.

“So, the President has endorsed him and that is what we have been looking for; his blessing, his endorsement, his encouragement and support and we have gotten that already.”

Buni emphasised that he was optimistic that Akeredolu would be re-elected because “the product the party is selling to Ondo people has sold itself already by performing very well in the last four years.’’

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is also the Chairman of the APC Campaign Council, also expressed optimism that Akeredolu would scale through because “the people of Ondo have seen his capabilities and have agreed that he is a good product.’’

According to Sanwo-Olu, Akeredolu has delivered good governance and has carried his people along in the last four years.

He said: “We are not taking anybody for granted that is why we are not going to be resting on our oars even when we know that he has done very well.

“We will still go through the entire campaign, ensuring that we go through the nooks and crannies of the state to re-assure them that their Governor, our candidate will continue on the good job that he is doing and also solicit for their votes.’’

On his part, the gubernatorial candidate, Akeredolu, said he was pleased with Buhari’s endorsement, assuring that he would be doing much more for the people of Ondo, if re-elected.

“Let me start by informing you that the President, in giving us his blessings, made one expression.

“He said this time around, he is more comfortable because four years ago he had to be there with us.

“I have always said this over and over, that the President’s support the last time was a clincher and it was important for the President to come out to give us all the support because then we were having a contest with an incumbent, which wasn’t an easy thing.

“So, I want to thank the President for coming to our aid then.”

“But this time around, I feel more relaxed to come to the President because I know that he has been to the state twice and he has seen a few of our facilities and has inaugurated few of the things we have put in place.

“We are not taking things for granted and we know that by God’s grace, success is ours,” he said.

The governor pledged that when re-elected, his focus would be on establishing the largest port in West Africa, based in Ondo State.

He also promised to complete all ongoing projects in the state, and solicited for the votes of the people in the forthcoming election to enable him to fulfill the promises he made.

“I have a lot of projects that are not completed. We have had problems in the past that a governor starts a project somebody comes in and abandons it.

“I am appealing to the people of Ondo State to let us see these projects to fruition, Port Ondo, that is a new thing entirely for us.

“Bitumen exploration is a totally new thing, bitumen has been there for years, today we have to extract bitumen, and the federal government has said we won’t be importing bitumen at a point in time.

“So, we need to be there to steer the affairs of state to ensure that bitumen comes on board from Ondo state. That is where you have the largest deposit of bitumen, second largest in the world.

“These are things we are convinced we have to do and that is why we talk to our people that continuity matters so that somebody will not come to truncate all these advancement that we have made getting to port, to bitumen exploration and so many other things.

“So, I have a lot to do differently,” he said.

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Akeredolu made the disclosure on Tuesday on his verified twitter account, @RotimiAkeredolu.

The governor, who said he had malaria a few days ago, explained that he was treated and “got over it.”

“And as at the time we had our party NEC, my colleagues called on me and spoke with one of them who felt that malaria should not be treated lightly, I should go ahead and have a test for COVID -19.

“The result came out today, June 30, 2020 and I tested positive but asymptomatic.

“But my trust in God to get through this is unshakable. So, my people, if you have malaria, get tested,” Akeredolu said.

He explained that he was neither feeling sick nor feeling hot in anyway, “but my doctors have advised that I should take the normal treatment and self isolate.”

“I believe that supervised home management will be ideal for me now.”

“So, for now, I will be isolated. Let me assure our people that as you can see me, there are many of us that don’t have the symptoms, it is there and you cannot see it.”

“This time, we will conduct another test and we will know the result. Let me assure our people that the work is going on,” he said.

He pleaded with his political associates to “continue with the project because we are sure to win.”

It was reported that Ondo State currently had recorded 276 cases of COVID-19.

It was also reported that while 89 patients had recovered, 19 deaths had also been recorded.

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