In spite of Ekiti State
Governor Kayode Fayemi’s concession of victory to Ayodele Fayose of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the leadership of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) has resolved to challenge, in court, the involvement of
the military and other security agencies in the June 21 governorship poll in the state.
Fayemi had accepted the results and congratulated Fayose.
But rising at the maiden meeting of its National Executive Committee at
its national secretariat in Abuja yesterday, the APC disclosed that the
process of the poll was badly skewed in favour of the PDP.
In
the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which was read by its
national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC leadership
stated that it resolved to take the step in order to prevent a
recurrence of the action in the coming Osun State governorship election
and the next year’s general election.
Mohammed said: “At a
press conference addressed by our chairman on June 20th, we warned that
our democracy was in clear and present danger from anti-democratic
forces who are bent on winning elections at all cost. Today, we restate
that warning and call for a reversal of the incidents that made sure a
level playing ground was not provided for all the candidates at the just
concluded election in Ekiti.
“While voting on Election Day may
not have been characterized by the usual brigandage and violence, we
submit that the entire process was everything but free and fair. If an
integral part of the process was badly tainted as we have clearly and
fully demonstrated above, then, the entire process cannot but be
tainted. Voting in Ekiti may have been free of the usual violence or
manipulation at the collation centres, but the entire electoral process
in the state was neither free, fair nor credible.
“Therefore,
in order to prevent a recurrence of what happened in Ekiti, especially
the militarization of the process, the harassment and intimidation of
citizens, especially those in opposition, my party has decided to
challenge in court some of these constitutional breaches and will also
encourage our leaders and supporters, who were arrested, harassed and
intimidated, to seek the enforcement of their
constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights that were recklessly
abridged by the security agencies.
“Our decision to act is not
only to ensure that these irresponsible and unconstitutional acts are
not repeated in subsequent elections, especially that in Osun in August
and next year’s general elections, but also because we have always said
that evil thrives when good men do nothing!”
The party
leadership commended its candidate, Fayemi, for the spirit of
sportsmanship which agreed with the principle that “election is never a
do or die affair”.
“We are very proud of Gov. Fayemi for his
conduct and comportment before, during and after the election, and we
hail him as a true democrat in the true spirit of the APC’s belief that
election is never a do or die affair, and that Nigerians must always be
free to elect those to govern them. After all, it is said that the just
powers of governments are derived from the consent of the governed”.
He argued that “election is a process, and whatever happens on the
voting day is only an integral part of that process. What happens
before, during and after the voting day complete the process,” the party
said
“We can confidently say that while the events of the
voting day itself may have led many to believe that the election was
free and fair, the same cannot be said of the events before, during and
after the election.”
On the alleged militarization of the
process, the APC leadership argued that while it is a normal thing for
the police and the Civil Defence Corps to be involved in the process of
any election, the same could not be said of the military and other
security agencies. It cited the harassment of some of its governors.
“With thousands of armed troops, police, state security and Civil
Defence personnel deployed to Ekiti, the state was simply under a total
lockdown. While we believe that the police and the Civil Defence indeed
have a role to play in providing the necessary security for the
election, we do not see why soldiers and NDLEA operatives who were armed
to the teeth needed to be deployed to a non-belligerent situation like
an election, especially at a time that their services are more needed in
the north-eastern part of Nigeria where over 200 abducted girls are
still missing and where innocent Nigerians are being killed daily.
“The questions to ask are: who ordered the deployments of the troops
and for what purpose? Who gave the orders to stop Gov. Rotimi Amaechi
from reaching Ado-Ekiti, as the army captain who stopped and threatened
to shoot him said he was acting under ‘orders from above’? What role did
the minister of state, defence, Senator Musliu Obanikoro, and his
counterpart in the Ministry of Police Affairs, Mr Jelili Adesiyan, play
in all this, especially given the fact that these two public servants
passed by the spot where Amaechi was being molested and simply sped by.
“It is worth mentioning that the physical prevention of Gov. Amaechi
from joining his colleagues at the final campaign rally of Gov. Fayemi
in Ekiti is a direct function of the unnecessary deployment of troops to
Ekiti for the election. This event will go down as the biggest affront
to democracy in our country in recent times.”
We are investigating Ekiti guber election – Akande
The former interim national chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande,
told journalists at the party’s secretariat on Thursday that the party
was investigating the electoral process that took place in Ekiti State
with a view to knowing if the outcome was the true reflection of the
wishes of the people.
On whether Fayemi’s acceptance speech on
the outcome of the election was in accordance with the party’s position,
Chief Akande said, “Fayemi said if it was the wish of the Ekiti people,
if he found out that it is not the wish of Ekiti people that it was a
rigged arrangement covered in a woolen velvet, definitely we will look
into it.
“We are going to investigate; we are human beings, we
are free to investigate; if you don’t investigate anything and you
succumb to dictatorship you will perish. It does not matter we are going
to study the situation within the time lag and we are going to let
Nigerians know what we stand for.”
When asked to speak on the
coming governorship poll in Osun State, Akande said, “We are not
preparing for rigging because rigging is becoming scientific in the hand
of the PDP, but we are going to study the situation and wait for it.”
APC Plans Mayhem In Ekiti – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted on the National
leadership of the APC for not accepting the processes and outcome of the
last Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election which was roundly won by
the PDP candidate, Mr. Ayodele Fayose.
PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Olisa Metuh said the position of the APC national leadership
over an election widely accepted as one of the freest, fairest and most
credible elections in Nigeria, and in which their candidate, Governor
Kayode Fayemi had also conceded defeat, demonstrates their ‘preference
for anarchy and blind homage to nihilism and destruction of the
democratic order”.
Senate In Rowdy Session Over Credibility Of Ekiti Polls
The Senate was yesterday thrown into a rowdy session over the outcome
of the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti State.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, Senator Andy Uba, who spoke under Order 43 of the
Senate Standing Order, commended INEC for conducting what he described
as the most credible election in the country.
But a drama
ensued when Senator Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti, APC) also came under the same
Order 43 saying that Senator Andy Uba’s younger brother, Chief Chris
Uba, had led the police to cause havoc during the exercise in the state.
Senator Ojudu said, “My colleague (Andy Uba) had already read Order 43.
I don’t need to repeat it. I will like to commend the governor-elect of
Ekiti State and my governor for accepting the results of the election.
“But I want to say here, Mr President, that my colleague who stood here
to talk, his younger brother Chris Uba, led police to the hotel and
smashed all the doors of the hotel…”
He was, however, shouted
down by PDP senators. But the deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu,
nipped the ugly situation in the bud. Ekweremadu ordered Senator Ojudu
to read the Order 43, and reminded him that the said order prohibits
discussing any controversial issue and ruled him out of order.
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