In its preparation for the Ondo state off-cycle governorship election, which will be held on November 16th, 2024, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has accredited 112 media organisations and over 700 media practitioners, which involved technicians and other personnel for the coverage of the poll.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the fourth regular quarterly consultative meeting with media organisations held at the INEC conference room, Abuja, on Friday, 1st November 2024, which was attended by media executives, heads of media organisations, editors, and senior journalists.

Professor Yakubu said the accredited media platforms span from newspaper, radio, television, and online, adding that their details would be posted on its website and social media platforms.

Speaking on the electoral commission’s election preparations, Professor Yakubu stated that prospective voters have collected 64,273 Permanent voter cards out of the 89,777 cards delivered to the state, with a collection rate of 71.6% for the upcoming election.

Professor Yakubu stated that the commission has improved the voter accreditation procedure, the uploading of results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, and the accreditation of media for the poll as part of its election preparations, drawing on lessons learned from the previous election.

He therefore appealed to the media and the journalists on the field to cover the election in a way that would guarantee a peaceful outcome in the election as he also declared that on Friday, November 8, 2024, the National Peace Committee would bring together political parties and their candidates to sign the Peace Accord.

“As you are aware, the portal for media accreditation for the Ondo State Governorship election shut down at midnight yesterday. The Commission is glad to announce the accreditation of 112 national and international media organisations (newspaper, radio, television, and online), deploying over 700 journalists, technicians, and other personnel to facilitate their coverage of the election. The detailed breakdown of the media organisations and the number of personnel to be deployed will be uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information.

“As the Ondo State Governorship election approaches, I appeal to the media to intensify your accurate reportage that will ensure peaceful elections, especially now that campaign by political parties and candidates is in full swing in the State. I also appeal to you to continue to serve as a counterforce against fake news, misinformation, and disinformation. I am glad to note that there has been no major incident of election-related violence known to the Commission in Ondo State so far. However, we are aware of flashpoints in some Local Government Areas to which we have already drawn the attention of the security agencies.

“As part of our preparations for the election, the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), mainly from the recent voter registration, ended three days ago. I am pleased to announce that a total of 64,273 PVCs were collected by voters out of the 89,777 cards delivered to the State.

“ This represents an impressive collection rate of 71.6%. I would like to thank the media for their support in voter mobilisation for the exercise. In the next few days, the Commission will upload to our website the cumulative figure of all PVCs collected in each of the 3,933 Polling Units across the State for result management as provided by law and for public information”, he said.