BY GBENGA ARIYIBI
ADO EKITI —OVER three weeks after conceding victory to Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in the Ekiti Governorship election of June 21, in the state, the All Progressive Congress, APC, has made a U-turn
and decided to challenge the result of the election at the election petition tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti,the state capital.

The Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, has declared the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, winner of the election, having polled majority of votes in all the 16 local government areas of the state to defeat the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of APC and the Labour Party, LP, candidate, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele.

Though details of the contents of APC petition at the tribunal were sketchy at the time this report, the interim chairman of the party in the state, Chief Jide Awe said he personally submitted the petition at the secretariat of the tribunal on behalf of the party on Saturday, since according to him, the law allowed the tribunal to operate on weekends.

Awe said the party had sought the assistance of the tribunal to “unravel the hidden facts surrounding the election,” contending that the election
was more of “a mechanical exercise than conventional casting of votes.”

The grouse on which the party is
contesting at the tribunal, according
to him, included alleged manipulation of the election in favour of the PDP candidate, undue militarisation, impeachment of Mr Fayose in 2006, as well as EFCC’s cases hanging on the governor-elect.

Awe claimed that Fayose was not qualified in the first place to participate in the election exercise,
“aside from the process of the poll’s
conduct, which was faulty.”

According to him, the party did not
want to take laws into its hands or
resort to self-helps, hence its decision to follow constitutional and peaceful line of seeking redress in the court, claiming “The results of the election were embarrassing to us as a party and we hold the view that there is no smoke without fire.”

Awe explained that the decision of the party to challenge the conduct of the election at the tribunal was not at variance with the earlier position of the Governor Fayemi, who had accepted defeat and congratulated Mr Fayose.

He said “The governor does not own
the party. It is the party that owns the governor, and so the party can decide for him. You will observe that there is no name of Dr Kayode Fayemi on the ballot papers, what was on it was the name of the party and its logo. So, the issue is beyond the governor. Let it be known to you that our candidate, Dr Fayemi only conceded victory to guarantee continued peace that was prevalent in the state at the time as well as allow the siege laid on the state by the military to end. You can see that as soon as he announced that he had accepted defeat, the soldiers immediately vacated the state.”

Meanwhile, the Governor-Elect, Mr
Ayo Fayose, has said APC’s members are jittery over the PDP’s victory in the state, saying he will continue to work with other members of the party in the South West geo political zone.

Speaking through his Chief Press
Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in a
statement weekend while reacting to a statement credited to the Oyo State chapter of the APC, warning Fayose to stay away from the state, said “The Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of association and movement among many freedoms
enshrined in it. It is in exercise of the
freedom that people came together to form the PDP and which people also freely joined.

”Fayose and others are members of
the PDP, I don’t know how that has
injured the APC. Also, it is in the
exercise of the freedom of movement that PDP members and leaders converged in Ibadan, to hold a sensitisation rally and necessary,
legally-mandated security agencies
performed their duties that led to the
success of the event.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/apc-challenges-fayoses-election-tribunal/

APC are full of hypocrites.
Let them continue wasting their time. They'll still lose at the Tribunal!

Okay, make I dial justice salami number for them.

Seriously this guys are loosing it, when they win it's free and fair, when they loose it's not. Too bad they don't learn

APC the confuse party

dem don come again ooo.

spread mat......pls let me bring my pillow

Sorry Salami is not there anympre.

hmmm

It runs in their blood. As long as they didn't win the election then it is not free and fair. Ndi Ara Party

That election should be declared void and nulled. over 1500 APC leaders were arrested less than 24 hours to election, while the likes of obanikoro and Andy Uba were moving freely during the elections with military and police escorts. This were the same clowns that blocked Ameachi's convoy and stopped otjer Governors from attending the final rally.
I have concluded that the pdp e-rodents are actually sick people. This clowns were all over the place jubilating a criminal, who was impeached for corruption and still have criminal cases with the EFCC. Only in Nigeria!

Joke

Bad loosers...if we didnt win,then it aint free and fair.

APC loosing and whinning since 1999

.

Comeon sore losers, Salami is no more there to perform the magic.
It's just like "Brazil going to FIFA to contest their loss to Germany". This no be "wuruwuru" na.

APC has no self morality

your candidate has conceded defeat

yet out of selfish interest you made him go back to his vomit


i wonder the good thing that would come out of this party

its gona b fine

Election don finish b say im don finish no two ways about it!!! If una like make una go sharia law court!!!

APC are goner on this issue, i believe its clear victory for Fayose, since he can win all the local govt in the state including Fayemi ward, that 1 shows that Fayose play the ball very well either by illegitimate/legitimate way. Anyway time for those SANs to be become more richer than before.

The grouse on which the party is
contesting at the tribunal, according
to him, included alleged manipulation of the
election in favour of the PDP candidate, undue
militarisation, impeachment of Mr Fayose in
2006, as well as EFCC’s cases hanging on the
governor-elect....
these people are comedians

really?

If they have a genuine case, why not

Following......

lad321: The grouse on which the party is
contesting at the tribunal, according
to him, included alleged manipulation of the
election in favour of the PDP candidate, undue
militarisation, impeachment of Mr Fayose in
2006, as well as EFCC’s cases hanging on the
governor-elect....
these people are comedians

You mean the pdp killer party are comedians? @ bolded, past criminals, and ex-convicts have been finding solace in this government. I wonder why a sane person will still be a die hard supporter of an obvious association of criminals and killers.

APC is a party that hates good things. They hurt themselves in the process. This action will only make them lose more members.

Cry me a river baby, cry me a lagoon!

dy should stp wasting dere tym nd accept defeat

When we say this party is evil; these are one of the reasons. Fayemi is not dumb to have conceded defeat yet this bourdillon based evils have refused to let go. Its only free and fair when they win.
APC have introduced a very bitter form of politics that might consume us all if not checked properly.
This is a same election acclaimed to be one of the fairest election we've had both by local international bodies.
Anyway, I've got news for them. They've lost lots of goodwill and will continue to as long as they continue on this part. They'll loose more states come 2015 and PDP will recover the few they will win at the tribunal.

Acts like this is a loose loose situation for the nigerian people.

Not a good move from APC! Though I respect their right to contest the election legally!

Firstly, Ayo was 100% qualified to run. He has never been convicted nor indicted by any judicial panel or "administrative" panel.

Secondly, making a U-turn on the polls after the Gov has conceded defeat shows that there's lack of coordination in d APC's rank.

However, it all boils to the judge to decide

those of us who live in ekiti knew about 2yrs ago that fayemi's govt was nose diving with his anti-people policies and propaganda. Most of his 'achievements' are on the pages of news paper and nothing on ground. He even pasted an advert of a flyover and we wondered where on earth it was located. Destroyed peoples houses to Plant flowers with over 2billion naira three years ago and those flowers are yet to grow as i write. Govt house of billions of naira despite an existing one in a state with meagre resources and a rising debt profile of over 30B naira. The burnt bricks industry was said to have been completed last year but it kept re-occuring in the budget and nothing to show for it....not even a single brick or employment. The troubles in term security during campaigns were majorly from their party. All the while people were just anxiously to send them packing. We should question how they got 120000 votes. FYI they shared more goodies and they are still the ones shouting stomachstructure...*spits*

koboko69: That election should be declared void and nulled. over 1500 APC leaders were arrested less than 24 hours to election, while the likes of obanikoro and Andy Uba were moving freely during the elections with military and police escorts. This were the same clowns that blocked Ameachi's convoy and stopped otjer Governors from attending the final rally.
I have concluded that the pdp e-rodents are actually sick people. This clowns were all over the place jubilating a criminal, who was impeached for corruption and still have criminal cases with the EFCC. Only in Nigeria!

uncle fear God oooooo! Over 1500 leaders? Haba! Deris god ooooo

jodeci: Bad loosers...if we didnt win,then it aint free and fair.

This is bullllshit....this gonna make APC lose more credibility, after your governor accepted it was free and fair, andthat the ppl decided, APC bad losers