Lucky Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the Ondo governorship election, says he is poised to win the contest due to his record in office.

The incumbent governor voted at polling unit 05, Igbo ward 4, Obenla in Ilaje LGA.

Speaking to journalists after casting his vote, Aiyedatiwa commended security operatives for ensuring a peaceful exercise.

He said the election has been seamlessly executed across the state.

“I want to believe that victory will come my way. I have just cast my vote here in my unit 05 Ilaje LGA of Ondo state,” Aiyedatiwa said.

“Here in my unit, the community has been calm and peaceful, and the turnout is very encouraging and I want to believe that the same situation will be at the other locations across the state.

“It’s peaceful here, I believe it should be peaceful in other locations.

“I want to commend the security agencies, police, civil defence, military, they have heavily deployed to be able to attend to any security threat.

“Ondo state has been adjudged to be one of the most safe and peaceful states in Nigeria and we have been having our elections in a peaceful environment and this very one will not be different.

“The citizens, they are law abiding. They know what they want and who they want. I believe the election will be very, very peaceful, credible.

“I went through the whole process of accreditation before casting my vote and I believe the INEC will do the same at every location.

“So, I want to believe that the process will be very, very transparent, credible, and I hope to see many of them.”

Aiyedatiwa urged residents to come out and exercise their franchise without fear or favour.

Speaking on his chances, the governor said he is in pole position to win the contest.

The APC candidate added that he was the only contender who traversed the 18 LGAs to solicit votes.

“Well, I believe with what we have done in the last 10 months, the populace, the voters, like I said, they know who they want and I believe I will win this election because of the work that I have done in the last 10 months,” he added.

“I want to say that I was the only candidate that covered the entire 18 local governments during the campaign period.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday expressed its readiness for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.

INEC National Commissioner Supervising Ondo, Ogun and Osun States, Professor Kunle Ajayi, disclosed this on Channels Television’s Politics Today in Akure.

He assured Ondo voters that the electoral empire won’t disappoint them as they file out in their numbers to elect a new governor who will pilot the affairs of the Sunshine State for the next four years.

“We have done our own work, we are proud of what we have done and we will not disappoint the people of Ondo State,” he said.

On Thursday, INEC commenced the sensitive materials to various local government areas of Ondo State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

The distribution was carried out at the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Alagbaka, Akure, Ondo State under the watch of party agents, armed policemen, and several commercial buses hired by the Commission.

During the interview, the INEC National Commissioner noted that, unlike the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, all the Registered Areas in Ondo State have received their sensitive materials.

“I want to assure you that everything will do well. As of 3 pm, all the Registered Areas (RAs) all their sensitive materials. The next thing is to move to the Polling Unit (PU). I toured some of the RAs this afternoon,” he added.

Meanwhile, the police authorities have deployed about 34,000 operatives for the Ondo State governorship election billed for Saturday, November 16, 2024.

Abiodun Alabi, the Deputy Inspector General of Police Coordinating Election Security, disclosed this to Channels Television on Friday.

He also revealed that measures have been taken to avoid infiltration of thugs or unauthorised persons during the off-cycle poll.

Alabi explained that all the 3,933 polling units of the state would be well covered, stressing that police operatives have been deployed across the wards and local government areas.

“By tomorrow, all the 3,933 polling units will be well covered,” he said. “We have about 34,000 police officers on the ground.”

The figure, he stated, includes the tactical units, the aerial surveillance team, and marine police among other units.

Labour unions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have threatened to shut down operations over the non-implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage, aligning with the Nigeria Labour Congress‘ (NLC) directive to embark on a nationwide strike by December 1, 2024.

Despite President Bola Tinubu signing the minimum wage bill into law on May 29, 2024, the FCT and seven other states—Zamfara, Sokoto, Osun, Cross River, Imo, Plateau, and Taraba—are yet to approve the new minimum wage, expected to have commenced in October.

Speaking to Punch on Friday, the Chairman of the FCT Council of the NLC, Stephen Knabayi, decried the non-implementation and said efforts to engage the FCT administration had been unsuccessful.

He further condemned the treatment of workers amid rising living costs, describing it as “unfair and unsustainable.”

Knabayi said, “FCT has not implemented the minimum wage. We have tried to meet with the FCT administration, but that has not been possible. And we are going to follow the directive of the NLC and shut down everywhere by November 30. Even the ₦70,000 minimum wage is not enough, and it is unfair.”

Knabayi and the chairman of the FCT chapter of the Trade Union Congress, Audu Akogwu, alleged that the FCT administration under the leadership of the Minister, Nyesom Wike, has failed to meet with the labour unions since his inauguration in August 2023.

Akogwu said, “Any moment the federal government pays anything, FCT pays the same thing. They paid the N35,000 wage award, and all the salary arrears, they have cleared. I do not think there is any formal negotiation with the administration or the FCT. Whatever the FG is paying is what they are paying.

“The only challenge we have with the FCT Minister is that the two labour unions cannot access him. Immediately they resumed office, we sent a letter from the TUC, telling him that we want to pay him a courtesy visit, till today they have not replied. That’s the only issue we have with the present minister of the FCT.”

• Analysts anticipate inflationary pressure to persist in November

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and oil marketers operating in the country imported 1.5 million metric tonnes of petrol and 414,018.764 metric tonnes of diesel respectively between October 1 and November 11, 2024, a document obtained by THISDAY has shown.
This emerged as the naira weakened to N1,740/$ on the parallel market yesterday, lower than the N1,720/$ it closed the previous day. Likewise, on the official forex market, the NAFEM, the naira depreciated marginally to N1,652/$ yesterday, compared with the N1650/$1 it closed the previous day.

Also yesterday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) used to gauge inflation in the country increased to 33.88 percent in October compared to 32.70 percent in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed yesterday.
The oil importation data which highlighted the movement of motor tanker vessels during the period, further indicated that 13,500 metric tonnes of jet fuel was brought into the country during the 42-day period.

These petroleum products imported into the country were valued at approximately $1.9 billion or nearly N3 trillion, according to estimates.
 A further breakdown of the tonnages showed that the volume of petrol brought into Nigeria during the time was roughly 2 billion litres, about 500 million litres of diesel and around 17 million litres of jet fuel.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, at an event in Lagos during the week, said the company had ended its prolonged reliance on imported refined products.
However, the NNPC spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, later clarified that the national oil firm and its partners would not stop the importation of products,  but that decisions on whether to import or not would be based on the prevailing economics of it.

Although the management of the Dangote refinery had made case that since there’s sufficient local refining, products should be purchased within the country, the issue of pricing remains very knotty.
“Today, NNPC does not import any products; we are taking only from domestic refineries,” Kyari had said, a statement which Soneye later shed light on.
 “The GCEO’s statement should not be construed to imply that NNPC is obligated to be the sole off-taker of any refinery or that we will no longer import fuel. While NNPC prioritises sourcing products from domestic refineries, this is contingent upon economic viability.
“If local supply is cost-effective, it will be preferred, but the same principle applies to other marketers, who will also evaluate total costs when deciding whether to buy locally or import,” Soneye had said.

In addition, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), it was learnt, may have granted additional licences for the importation of more petroleum products before December.
But the report obtained by THISDAY showed that tanker vessels carrying refined products have been arriving at ports in Lagos, Warri, Calabar, and Port Harcourt, despite the push by the Dangote refinery to ensure oil marketers get products from its $20 billion facility located in Lagos.

For instance in October, the NNPC and its partners imported a total of 994,446.438 metric tonnes of petrol, with Lagos receiving 555,121.617 metric tonnes, Warri 281,100 metric tonnes, Port Harcourt 94,224.821 metric tonnes, and Calabar 64,000 metric tonnes.
Besides, a total of 285,518.764 metric tonnes of diesel was imported, with Lagos getting 162,500 metric tonnes, Warri 58,500 metric tonnes, Port Harcourt 56,018.764 metric tonnes and Calabar 8,500 metric tonnes.

In the same vein, from November 1 to November 11, a further 358,083 metric tonnes of petrol, 112,500 metric tonnes of diesel, and 13,500 metric tonnes of aviation fuel were discharged at Nigerian ports.
Aside the NNPC, 23 other oil marketers, including Matrix, A.A Rano, Bovas, Eternal Oil, Deep Water, Ibeto, Chisco, T-Time, Dozy, North-West, Shorelink, AYM Shafa, Rainoil, Prudent, Fatgbems, also got products.

Specifically, on October 10, NNPC received 60,590.187 metric tonnes of petrol via the Navig8 Honor ship at Pinnacle Terminal, while on October 16, another 38,083 metric tonnes of petrol were delivered by the CL Agatha Christie ship.
Similarly, on October 18, four ships, namely: Largo Sea, Binta Saleh, CL Game Ousten, and Berners, delivered a combined 97,000 metric tonnes of petrol. Additionally, AA Rano imported 18,860 metric tonnes of petrol and 20,000 metric tonnes of diesel via ships Binta Saleh and Lausu at its own terminal.
At a recent meeting with government authorities, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said  that his refinery currently holds more than 500 million litres of fuel in reserves.
Meanwhile, the CPI which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and commodities increased to 33.88 per cent in October compared to 32.70 per cent in September.
The 1.18 percentage increase in headline index was blamed on rising food and energy prices.
The uptick in inflation came despite the current harvest season when food prices are expected to crash.

According to the CPI report for October, year-on-year, inflation was 6.55 per cent higher compared to 27.33 per cent in October 2023.
Month-on-month, headline inflation rose by  0.12 per cent to 2.64 per cent compared to 2.52 per cent in September.
Food inflation rose 7.64 per cent to 39.16 per cent year-on-year compared to 31.52 per cent in October 2023.
The NBS attributed the rise in food inflation year -on-year to increases in prices of guinea corn, rice, maize grains, rice, others (bread and cereals class), yam, water yam, coco yam, (potatoes, yam and other tubers class), palm oil, vegetable oil milo, lipton and bournvita.

Month-on-month food inflation was attributed to increases in the prices of palm oil, vegetable oil, mudfish, croaker (apo), and fresh fish (obokun).
Others are dried beef, goat meat, mutton, skin meat, other meat class, and bread, guinea corn flour, plantain flour, and rice among others.
On other hand, core inflation which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produces and energy rose by 5.79 per cent to 28.37 per cent, year-on- year in October compared 22.58 per cent in October 2023.

Core inflation was attributed to highest increases in prices of bus journey within the city, journey by motorcycle, bus journey intercity, others (under passenger transport by road class), rents (actual and imputed rentals for housing class).
Others are meal at a local restaurant (accommodation service class), and hair cut service, woman hair brush, women’s hairdressing, (hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishments class).

Year-on-year, in urban inflation increased to 36.38 per cent compared to 29.29 per cent in October 2023, while month-on-month, the index also rose to 2.75 per cent from 2.67 per cent in the preceding month.
Similarly, rural inflation increased to 31.59 per cent, year-on-year compared to 25.58 per cent in October 2023.
Month-on-month, the rural index stood at 2.53 per cent compared to 2.39 per cent in September.
At state level all item inflation year-on-year, was highest in Bauchi (46.68 per cent), Kebbi (40.02 per cent), Sokoto (39.65 per cent), while Delta (27.85 per cent), Benue (28.22 per cent) and Katsina (29.59 per cent) recorded the lowest rise.

Month-on-Month, however,  highest increases was observed in Kano (3.77 per cent), Bauchi (3.74 per cent), Adamawa (3.59 per cent), while Kwara (1.27 per cent), Ondo (1.49 per cent) and Lagos (1.91 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.
Year-on-year, food inflation was highest in Sokoto (52.18 per cent), Edo (46.55 per cent), Borno (45.85 per cent), while Kwara (31.68 per cent), Kogi (33.30 per cent), and Rivers (33.87 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.
iOn a Month-on-month basis, however, food inflation was highest in Adamawa (5.08 per cent), Sokoto (4.86 per cent), Yobe (4.34 per cent), while Kwara (1.11 per cent), Ondo (1.31 per cent) and Kogi (1.50 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.

However, reacting to the inflatable report, analysts at Cordros Research, said despite the typical boost from the October harvest season, food inflation surged by 30 basis points (bps) to 2.94 per cent month on month, resulting in a 39.16 per cent year on year.
It said, “This trend reflects persistent structural challenges undermining the agricultural sector’s productivity. Key factors include widespread flooding disrupting farming activities, ongoing conflict in the Northern region limiting agricultural operations, and rising input costs constraining harvest yields below historical averages, all of which have kept agricultural food prices elevated.

“Additionally, the persistent currency depreciation maintained upward pressure on imported food prices, while increased transportation costs –  a direct consequence of higher Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) prices – inflated retail food prices across the board.
“To put this in perspective, October’s month on month food inflation significantly exceeded the five-year October average of 1.47 per cent, underscoring the unusual intensity of current price pressures.”

Cordros added that “Across sub-items, prices rose for farm produce (+20bps to 2.95 per cent month on month) and Processed food (+33bps to 2.93 per cent month on month), while imported food prices saw a slight decline (-24bps to 3.37 per cent month on month).
“Concurrently, the core inflation increased by 4bps to 2.14 per cent month on month (September: 2.10% m/m) within the review period after declining in September, pushing the year-on-year print higher to 28.37 per cent (September: 27.43 per cent y/y).”
In its outlook, however, Cordros further stated that combined with persistent naira volatility and festive-driven consumer demand, inflation is expected to sustain price pressures on both locally produced and imported food items.  

Cordros said, “As a result, we expect food inflation to print 3.04 per cent month on month in November, leading to a further increase in the year-on-year numbers (+160bps to 40.83 per cent).
“At the same time, prices within the core basket are poised to remain elevated, reflecting the combined effect of (1) naira depreciation, (2) elevated costs of energy, (3) increased transport expenses and (4) high operational costs.

“Consequently, we project core inflation to increase by 2.16 per cent m/m, cascading to 28.17 per cent y/y (October: 27.42 per cent y/y).
“Taking these components together, the headline inflation is expected to print 2.65 per cent m/m, pushing the year-on-year numbers higher to 34.60 per cent in November (October: 33.88 percent y/y).”