President Goodluck Jonathan is reportedly behind the apparent militarization of upcoming elections in Ondo State, having replaced local police with soldiers, a source in the police told SaharaReporters today.
The source claimed that in the last two hours, the National Security Adviser, Lt. Col. Sambo Dasuki and the Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obadan have taken control of the state and flooded it with soldiers.
An observer in Akure confirmed to SaharaReporters that there is an unusually high number of checkpoints mounted by soldiers in the state but stated the soldiers were "civil".
The dramatic deployment of soldiers has raised serious concerns by candidates in tomorrow’s polls that the elections will be rigged.
Interestingly, Mr. Jonathan does not support his party's candidate, Olusola Oke but has reportedly poured funds into the candidacy of the Labour Party candidate and incumbent Governor, Olusegun Mimiko.
Competition is fierce for the governorship of Ondo State considering the region’s extreme oil-wealth.
