₦airaland Forum

Meldrick:
It's quite unfortunate what the media has been turned into. For a man of Reuben Abati's personality to hurriedly choose a topic and cannot carry out an extensive research to buttress his point explains the kind of lazy media practioners we have.
A young hip hop artiste who I'm sure a lot regarded as a street urchin could take his time out of his busy schedule to create a brilliant piece also goes a long way to show how hard working the present youths are. It also shows the dugged approach of youths in getting money. This could be understood with the music written and composed by these youths. They have chosen to stay awake while a lot sleep. So for someone from a failed generation to critisize such hardworking youth who has chosen not to steal (just like our eminent leaders do with funds meant for 140 million Nigerians) is absurd. THEY HAVE ALSO CHOSEN NOT TO PAINT A BAD IMAGE OF THE COUNTRY JUST LIKE THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER DOES, instead they are known all over the world as individuals who are proud to be Nigerians that explains their slogan 9ja 4 life.

REAL TRUTH:
By the info in that site,,Lagos was said to be 9Million in 2006,,,this is unbelieveable and unacceptable,,,,The population of Ajegunle, Agege,the whole of mile2 towards Okokmaiko and Mushin is more than 9million as at 2006,,,therefore this report is null and void,,,and its repugnant to every reasonable permutations and realities on ground,,,

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-35352.96.html


New voters register puts Lagos figure = 4,204,000 , a little below the previous figure of 4,558,216

http://www.tribune.com.ng/16022007/news/news2.html
http://www.triumphnewspapers.com/62m162207.html

Latest Analysis from Lagos "Census" will now be:

Age 0 -5 = 3.19 Million
Age 6 -17 = 2.06 Million
Age 18 - above = 4.20 million
TOTAL = 9.45 Million.

Given that some people left Lagos during the census and that only 98 % of Nigerians was claimed to be counted by N.P.C., It is plausible that Lagos is indeed 9.01 Million.


The figures above are the "human figures" (as opposed to Vehicles, Buildings & Satellite Pictures) being used by Lagos State to disprove The NPC results.

School age for Primary - Secondary School = 6 -18

REAL TRUTH:
@Becomerich,,,someone had already warned me earlier on as regards ur graphical cum Map Illustration,,,my guy you get me even more confused,,,what has Naija's population got to do with Togo and Republic of Benin
 Bottomline is that,,,its highly irresponsible of our leaders not having the ability to categorically state what our population figure is,,,Many years back,,,there was this estimation that out of every four Africans,,,you would find a Nigerian,,,that is to say Nigeria's population is a quarter of Africa,,,Therefore,,Africa's population has been adjudged to be slightly over a Billion now,,,
 A rough and quick mathematics would put Nigeria at probably around 250Million or above,,,,if the Government fails to address this issue,,,Nigeria would continue to face unprecedented social,moral,environmental and structural problems,,,,In a serious country,,there is the need to determine the number of people that should reside in a locality or square metre,,,take for instance ajegunle and agege in lagos,,,these areas are far far more than over populated,,,Ajegunle alone is bigger than Jamaica in terms of population,,,Then the whole of Lagos is probably the size of Ghana population wise,,,,,,I just am wondering if people THINK in that country at all,,,
 Yet you would see people getting pregnant and givin g birth to 5 kids,,,wahala dey oooo,,,,

Flipping:
Guys don't want more than just credit,

We just want you to actually link to your sources since some of the photos you're publishing without credit are actually copyrighted and are not allowed to be used without the photographers permission, which I'm guessing you've never asked for.

RSA:
This is the list of stadiums that are going to be used

1.Soccer city,located in south of Johannesburg(very close to Soweto).Capacity of 97 400,the main stadium where the opening and the final will be staged.It was almost build from scratch.It is 90% complete.

2.Ellis Park(now renamed Coca Cola Park),located in downtown Johannesburg,capacity 62 567,miner revamp was done on it,now functional,100% complete

3.Loftus stadium,located in Pretoria,the capital city of the republic,capacity 50 000,miner revamp and it's 100% complete

4.Free State stadium,in bloemfontein,capacity of 46 000,miner revamp and now 100% complete

5.Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg,capacity of 42 022,miner revamp and now 100% complete

6.Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth,capacity of 46 500,newly build and now 100% complete

7.Moses Mabhida in Durban,capacity 70 000,newly build and now 90% complete,one of the semi final venue.

8.Greenpoint Stadium in Cape town,capacity 69 070,newly build and now 90% complete,one of the semifinal venue.

9.Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane,capacity 45 000,newly build and now 90% complete.

10.Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit,capacity of 45 000,newly build and 90% complete.

Which means five of the world cup stadiums are ready at this moment.

Lagosboy:
Lagos allocation before the reccession was only about 2.1 - 3 billion naira while the IGR was about 10 billion.

Lagos is the only state in the country that can survive without the Oil revenue !!!!

Ibime Lagos can surely

nuzo:
Though its a good thing to be fair, but it will be fairer if we call it what it is; AC rigged as much as PDP did, only that the later took the price home cos of her upper hand.

I have no sympathy for whoever loses in this circumstance, not even for Ekiti people as they could have taken a cue from their Edo counterpart if their hands weren't soiled.

blacksta:
Who is the source of this twitter account ?

http://twitter.com/ekitirr


Name Bolaji Aluko and Co.
Location Ekiti Nigeria USA etc.
Web http://www.kayodefayemi.com
Bio Twittering the April 25 Gubernatorial Election Re-Run in Ekit State

Kobojunkie:
Oh boy!!!
She refused to announce what she claimed to be fake results knowing that the elections in two wards had not been completed. Now asking that she should have waited, announced the real results instead of the fake, before resigning is out of the question? WOOHOO!!!

@Folem, May I ask what you think of the Ekiti Justice Group?

http://thenewsng.com/cover-story/obasanjos-protege/2009/03



Obasanjo's Protege:



Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, a 74-year-old widow and Independent National Electoral Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti state, is to oversee the conduct of the governorship election re-run in the state. However, her more-than-just-friends relationship with former president Olusegun Obasanjo puts a question mark on her credibility


Mrs. Oluremi Obasanjo, first wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, still admires many of her estranged husband’s qualities. In her recently published biography, Bitter Sweet: My Life With Obasanjo, Oluremi lists such as humour, intelligence and attention to details among others. The same book bristles with Obasanjo’s less appealing sides: chronic inability to forgive, deceptiveness, notoriously explosive temper as well as out-and-out womanising.

Obasanjo’s relentless philandering riled Oluremi as much as it delighted her husband’s numerous mistresses, with whom she frequently fought. Just how she classifies Ayoka Adebayo, a 74-year-old widow and current Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Ekiti State, is unknown. On page 114 of her book, Oluremi recalls a near-explosive encounter with Mrs. Adebayo. The encounter was a passable imitation of a long-suffering woman meeting a woman she believed was sharing her man.

It was after Obasanjo was released from prison, where he was committed on spurious coup-plotting charges by the Sani Abacha regime. That was the first time she was meeting her husband after his release and, writes Oluremi: “He hugged me and you could see the joy in his eyes as his face lightened (sic) up on seeing me.” But the sudden rush of excitement evaporated the moment Oluremi saw Mrs. Adebayo, who was seated beside Obasanjo. Oluremi, a veteran of numerous physical clashes with her husband’s mistresses, ordered Mrs. Adebayo to vacate the seat. She resisted. Confrontation loomed. “As I was getting angry, Obasanjo stood up and moved to another seat to avoid a commotion,” writes Oluremi.But in an interview with this magazine, Mrs. Adebayo denied that anything was written about her in the book, which she claimed to have, and sees Oluremi as a sister. “I have the book you are talking about and I have read it. I also know that my picture is there. But it is the picture we took during my birthday. Nothing was said about me in the book,” she claimed somewhat inaccurately.

That was not the first meeting of the two women. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Adebayo’s late husband, Oluwole Adebayo, was Obasanjo’s cousin. Adebayo, an engineer and manager with West African Portland Cement, WAPCO, was killed by unknown gunmen in front of Owu Baptist Church, Abeokuta, in 1990. He was one of the two persons who witnessed the wedding between Oluremi and Obasanjo at Camberwell Street Registry, South East London, on 22 June, 1963.

Obasanjo and Mrs. Adebayo are said to be very close. However, it is not known whether the closeness began after her husband’s death or before. It is also unclear whether it was her husband’s reputation with women that pushed Oluremi close to confrontation with Mrs. Adebayo. The hint provided is about Dr. Onaolapo Soleye, a former finance minister, who is said to be Obasanjo’s school mate and friend. Soleye is a cousin to Mrs. Adebayo. The former minister, who hails from Owu as Obasanjo and Mrs. Adebayo, is not well regarded by Oluremi. Soleye was negatively portrayed in the book as a leech and home wrecker.

Mrs. Adebayo also denies that there is any other relationship with Obasanjo beyond the fact that they are both from Ogun State and hail from Owu. But on page 52 of In The Eyes Of Time, Obasanjo’s biography written by Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, Oluwole Adebayo is described as Obasanjo’s cousin, the same as in Oluremi’s book.Oluremi’s seething which seems not to have abated will likely arouse some degree of interest in the political events in Ekiti State, where Mrs. Adebayo, by virtue of her position will oversee the coming re-run of the governorship election in 10 of the 16 local councils in the state. These are Ido/Osi, Ikole, Oye (two wards), Ekiti West, East, South-West and Irepodun (10 wards). Others are Ise/Orun (eight wards), Ijero and Gboyin.

On 17 February, the Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, nullified the election of Engr. Segun Oni as governor, on account of substantial indifference to electoral regulations, ordering him to vacate his office and hand over to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly. Ruling on the suit brought before it by the Ekiti State Action Congress, AC, governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the appellate tribunal ordered a re-run within 90 days. It, however, held that results of the remaining six local governments should remain intact.

In the AC camp, which believed it was robbed of victory in the 2007 governorship election and at the First Ekiti State Election Petitions Tribunal, the verdict sparked jubilation. AC Chairman in the state, Chief Olajide Awe, said: “It’s a victory for all of us; this has again rekindled our hope in the judiciary. True election will always hold where agencies saddled with the organisation of election observe the rules and regulations for the conduct of such election.”

But for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to which Oni belongs, the verdict came as a shock. This was made more profound by a rumour that the Appeals Tribunal had upheld the election of Oni, who was in Ado-Ekiti on the day of the ruling. The rumour, which broke before the court made its final pronouncement, sent Oni and his supporters into frenzied partying, which was brought to an abrupt end by the re-run ordered. The shock later sparked grief, from which the party claims to have recovered and ready to trump its opponent in the re-rerun. PDP Vice Chairman, South-West, Mr. Tajudeen Oladipo, said the party took the judgment in good faith “because of our respect for the rule of law”.

He expressed optimism that the PDP would win the re-run election. “Oni is on leave for three months and will definitely come back,” he boasted. Similar comments were made by Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, PDP National Chairman, and Chief Richard Akinjide, a party chieftain. But those familiar with the conduct of the 2007 general elections in the state know better than to dismiss such boasts as that of a man proclaiming his virility after his starved wife had bolted. Observers reckon that the party’s boast was fuelled by a reliance on Obasanjo, whose closeness to Mrs. Adebayo, the resident electoral commissioner, is the closest thing to an ace. Rotimi Akeredolu, President, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has already expressed fears about the credibility of the re-run election if INEC, as presently constituted, should conduct it. Akeredolu called on President Umar Yar’Adua to rekindle the people’s confidence in the nation’s electoral process by ensuring a free and fair election in the state.According to him, the ruling of the court has clearly shown that the elections were rigged, but that the court was handicapped to declare an outright winner.

Obasanjo has been severely jolted by the court ruling. Oni is one of his blue-eyed boys in the South-West. It was through the former president’s strong-arm tactics that he was handed the party’s gubernatorial ticket, having been trounced at the PDP primaries. After his inauguration, Obasanjo visited the state in what he described as a thank you tour and was received less than warmly by protesters. They were eventually overpowered by armed policemen. During the visit, the former president urged the people to accept Oni, so that Ekiti could develop and never return to what he called the “years of the locust and cankerworm”. He also boasted that the governor would spend his four-year tenure.

As yet, the former president’s wish has not been granted as a result of the court verdict. But he is treating the current development as a setback, not a disaster. And to avert a disaster, sources said, he has held a series of meetings with the trio of Oni, Mrs. Adebayo and Tunji Odeyemi, the acting governor. But the apprehension over Mrs. Adebayo predates the court verdict and the series of meetings she is alleged to have held with Obasanjo. On her resumption in January 2008, the AC raised the issue of her affinity with Obasanjo, who appointed Wole, her son, a presidential aide. The party also raised the issue of competence in electoral matters, especially since Ekiti State INEC office is her first such assignment. “Our demand is that INEC replaces Mrs. Adebayo with someone who is above board and not in any way tarred by the brush of dangerous liaisons with the PDP. In the event that this is not done, Mrs. Adebayo should be advised that we are watching her every move and expect she would be able to separate Ekiti INEC from the Siamese alliance with the PDP,” the AC said.

The Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, is also worried about the outcome of the re-run election. In a recent statement issued by the group, it explained that the history of re-run elections makes a depressing read. “A re-run that was ordered is a reminder of Adamawa, Kogi, Cross River, Bayelsa states, where elections were nullified for one reason or the other. “Our experiences in all these places were that the re-runs were an opportunity for re-rig to return the beneficiaries of the previous malpractices that led to the nullifications,” the group said.

The ARG also pushed for the replacement of the INEC boss in the state, on account of her closeness to Obasanjo, who is described as the exponent of “do or die” elections. “Any poll conducted by her is tainted in advance on account of this allegation,” ARG added. In similar vein, the group demanded the redeployment of Mr. Chris Ola, Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, who has been accused of partisan conduct in the arrest and harassment of the AC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, after the verdict. The same treatment is wanted for Mr. Etaifo Samuel Erale, Mobile Police Commander in the state.

Another demand of the ARG is that the voters’ roll for all the 64 wards must be displayed for verification before the re-run. Another group, The Positive Force, also lent its voice to the campaign against the Resident Electoral Commissioner’s capability to conduct a transparent election. Mrs Adebayo, the group alleged, has had a history of bias since she assumed duties in the state. In a statement signed by Bola Ogundana, its coordinator, the group said: “It is not a hidden fact that Mrs. Adebayo has a close affinity with the ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, to whom she owed her present appointment. President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ignoble role in the imposition of Mr. Segun Oni on Ekiti people is still fresh in our memory. It was President Obasanjo who employed state powers to install Segun Oni as Ekiti governor but his election has since been nullified.”

Certain actions of Mrs. Adebayo have continued to encourage the belief that she is Obasanjo’s protege. The Appeals Tribunal has already confirmed INEC’s complicity in the cancelled election. On assumption of office, an AC delegation visited the electoral commissioner and requested for her fairness and neutrality in the election petition between the AC and the PDP before the First Ekiti State Election Petitions Tribunal. The AC raised issues bordering on the partisanship of INEC officials. For instance, one of them, one Mr. Gbadegesin, who testified during the recount exercise and admitted that votes counted did not tally with that declared by INEC, recanted all he said before the tribunal in a press interview. The Electoral Commissioner promised to look into the matter, but she never did. The AC delegation also complained to her that INEC officials were in the habit of mutilating INEC’s EC8 form series to favour the PDP at the lower tribunal. The complaint attracted a promise of investigation, which is still being awaited. Again, at the lower tribunal, a wrong date was mistakenly written by INEC on one of the EC8 series and the tribunal asked AC counsel to effect the correction.

AC counsel had hoped the request of getting INEC to correct its mistake was a simple one, but it turned out to be otherwise. The mistake was never corrected. The Electoral Commissioner has also been accused of filling almost all the key positions in the office of INEC in the state from people from Ogun State. Those principal officers, it is alleged, are also candidates of Obasanjo. This magazine gathered that Mrs. Adebayo, a retired educationist, was a member of the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority during Obasanjo’s first term as president and later served on the board of the National Universities Commission. The mother of six was said to have owned a cold room, selling frozen fish, when she retired from service. In 2005, when she turned 70, Mrs. Adebayo had a big party at the Abeokuta Sports Club. The former president was one of the dignitaries at the event. He was said to have given Mrs. Adebayo a Peugeot 406 car as birthday gift. Through the former president’s influence, sources added, she was also appointed a collection agent for timber logging in Ogun State during the first term of Governor Gbenga Daniel.

But despite doubts about her credibility, the Electoral Commissioner said she is determined to conduct an election to be proud of. “We are going to have a free and fair election…We are aware that the entire world is watching and we are not ready to disappoint them. I will not disappoint anyone in the forthcoming re-run election,” she told trong>TheNEWS. In the meantime, the campaign for the re-run election has gathered momentum, with both parties expressing optimism and sniping at each other. The PDP flagged off its campaign last Monday at Okemesi-Ekiti in the Ekiti West Local Government Area of the state. AC will launch its own this week.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2009/mar/09/politics-09-03-2009-006.htm

“It is against this backdrop that we cannot dismiss the fears of the opposition in Ekiti that 74-year old Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, who has been accused of amorous relationship with Obasanjo by no other person than the wily General’s first wife, Mrs. Oluremi Obasanjo, cannot be trusted to conduct a free and fair election.
“In her book, ‘Bitter Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo’, Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, an Owu lady whose late husband, Mr. Oluwole Adebayo, was Obasanjo’s cousin, was one of the many women Oluremi recalled had numerous clashes with an account of amorous relationship with her husband.”

http://www.compassnews.net/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16392:three-ac-thugs-die-in-ekiti-buried-in-lagos&catid=43:news&Itemid=63



As the battle for the governorship seat in Ekiti State continues between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress (AC), some thugs and, politicians, who went from Lagos to participate in the election, were back to base on Sunday, nursing a bloody nose, as they buried three of the casualties of the partisan war.

The Nigerian Compass learnt that the corpse of one of the suspected AC thugs, identified as Baba Sarah, was brought back to Lagos at about 3 a.m on Sunday and buried at 4 p.m later in the day, in his home along the Idimu-Ejigbo Road, near Rolling Stone Hotel.

The slain thug was also identified as a member of the group sent to Ekiti by Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) leaders. Five other members of the group were said to have been detained by the police in Ekiti. They include a woman called Iya Poku and two men who both bear the name Tope.

Another was buried in Ikorodu while the third was buried in Gowon Estate, the same day.

There were reports that those mobilised to Ekiti were paid N20,000 each.

The Lagos AC members who narrowly escaped death in Ekiti, after they were allegedly caught in election malpractices, included a council chairman, his deputy, a supervisory councillor and a councillor representing Isheri Ward ‘A’.

Reports say about six persons were killed and many others seriously wounded.

A notorious thug on Lagos Island, who disguised as an observer, escaped death by the whiskers as he was said to have beaten a hasty retreat when he was cornered, shooting and wounding some people in the process.

Efforts to get comments from the council chairman, Wahab Bello, and his deputy, Kunle Sanyaolu, proved abortive.

At the Aso Rock Villa yesterday, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua summoned a crucial meeting on the Ekiti rerun.

At the talks were Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, the National SecurityAdviser, Sarki Muktar, Police Inspector-General, Mike Okiro and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu.

At the meeting which lasted an hour, Iwu was directed to fix a definite date for the rerun in Oye Local Government.

Okiro was also directed to provide adequate security.

Meanwhile, the police said yesterday that all political thugs arrested during the election would be prosecuted in accordance with the Electoral Act.

Police spokesman, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Emmanuel Ojukwu, who commented on the development yesterday, said: “Whoever is arrested will be treated in accordance with the Electoral Act.”

It was gathered that there was serious pressure on the Police Force to release the suspects because most of them are from Lagos.

Iwu, had earlier declared, at a press conference in Abuja yesterday: “It is impossible for the commission to declare the winner of the rerun until election in the remaining two wards in Oye Local Government Area is conducted with result obtained.”

Votes being expected from the remaining two wards, according to Iwu, “are in the neighbourhood of 18,000, going by the number of registered voters.”

Iwu categorically stated that election in the two wards was postponed “because of security situation, safety of the people and in the interest of the future of the country.”

He declared that the new date for the conduct of the election in the remaining two wards would be determined after the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mrs Ayoka Adebayo, must have sent in her report on the election to the headquarters in Abuja.

Mrs Adebayo, according to Iwu, is currently ill, having broken down in the course of the rerun election conducted in 61 wards on Saturday.

Iwu pointed out that going by the scores of the candidates in the rerun election; the two leading contenders (Segun Oni of the PDP and Kayode Fayemi of AC) “are running neck to neck”.

His words: “Now, going by the scores of the candidates in the election, the two leading contenders are running neck to neck. The expected votes in the remaining local government area of Oye is in the neighbourhood of 18,000, going by the number of registered voters.

“It is impossible for the REC therefore to declare a winner of the governorship election in Ekiti State without conducting the election in the remaining two registration areas (wards) in Oye Local Government Area and obtaining the result.

“It is indeed sad that an election that ought to have been concluded and a winner announced has, once more, been prolonged, due primarily to the recalcitrant conduct of politicians, who seem determined to bug down the electoral system and process in the country at every turn.

“INEC remains resolute in doing the right thing and seeing the process to its conclusive end”.

The INEC Chairman praised the police for the security arrangement they put in place.

Saying that the early stages of the election on Saturday “started very well, was quite impressive and smooth”, Iwu regretted that later on, “serious security situation set in as politicians and their gangs moved to undermine the process”.

One of the observers, Mr. Timothy Ihemadu, who also spoke at the press conference addressed by Iwu, described the rerun as a “very unique election”.

Ihemadu was, however, not impressed with the security arrangement.

Also, a Director of INEC, Mr. Ademola Johnson, who participated in the conduct of the election, narrated how he and other members of his team escaped from being lynched by thugs “while performing our assignment.”

Also in Abuja, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has condemned ‘the desperado tactics’ applied by the AC in Ekiti.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, said: “We have been following the Ekiti State rerun with deep concern. Particularly, we wish to condemn in totality the various acts of violence that AC is unleashing on the peace-loving people of Ekiti State. We had thought that as true democrats, they will heed the call of Mr. President to avoid anything that will disrupt peace and tranquillity in Ekiti State. Unfortunately, in their desperate attempt to win this election at all cost, they have thrown caution to the wind.”

He called on AC members to urgently retrace their steps and provide an enabling environment for the conclusion of the outstanding election in the two wards in Oye Local Government.

“The party wishes to commend INEC and all the security agencies for demonstrating maturity in this rather very difficult task.

“PDP commends all our members and supporters in Ekiti State, who, despite all threats and harassments, have remained resolute in the defence of our cause. We urge them to remain calm and vigilant to ensure that the election in the remaining two wards is conducted peacefully.

“We wish to assure all our people that we are confident Governor Segun Oni will return to the Government House, God willing”, he said.

Also, the South-West chairman of the party, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, insisted that the results in the 61 wards already conducted must be released immediately by INEC.

There was drama in Ado-Ekiti yesterday as PDP supporters trooped to the streets to jubilate their imminent victory. Their AC counterparts also did same.

But, unlike the charged atmosphere on Sunday, the jubilation yesterday was peaceful.

After the jubilation, accusations and counter accusations started with PDP members accusing Adebayo of being used by the AC to scuttle the election.

The party supporters asked what was delaying the release of the results when the election had been conducted and result compiled, collated and handed over to INEC for announcement.

According to the results which INEC gave to party agents, duplicate of which was made available to the Nigerian Compass, Oni is leading with about 5,000 votes after deducting the initial lead of the AC.

The party said it would no longer tolerate the “bare-faced and outright provocation of the AC.” Addressing a press conference at the state party secretariat in Ado Ekiti, the Chaiman of the Media and Publicity of Segun Oni Campaign Organisation, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said: “We want to state unequivocally that the PDP will no longer tolerate the barefaced and outright provocation of the AC. “We have restrained ourselves thus far, not out of cowardice but our determination to ensure that AC’s plan to destroy the election fails to the end.

“As you all are aware, the rerun ordered by the Appeal Court held peacefully in nine out of the 10 Local Government Areas and I am sure none of you is unaware of the fact that AC never wanted the election to hold. This they made clear at several fora before the election and even before the Appeal Court judgement.

“It is inexplicable and untenable that INEC, which conducted the national election and indeed last Saturday’s elections in 61 wards, will now find it impossible to conduct elections in just two wards.

“It is also worrisome that the police, which maintained peace for election that held in the whole country, will now be handicapped to maintain peace in just two wards of one local government.

“We had envisaged this kind of situation and that explained why we called for the deployment of soldiers to maintain peace in the state during the rerun but the AC blackmailed the presidency into rescinding its position on this. Now, have we not been vindicated?”

Adeyeye insisted that the result must be released by INEC “which will only be a mere formality as the results are already in possession of the public”, declaring that the failure of INEC to declare the existing results and conduct the remaining ones is a call to anarchy.

Adeyeye further accused the AC of allegedly loading several BRT buses with armed thugs from Lagos for the election, threatening to match AC’s force with force if the provocation is not stopped forthwith by the police and other security agencies.

He also called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of former Governors Niyi Adebayo, Ayo Fayose and the AC candidate, Fayemi, accusing them of being the brain behind the dastardly act to set the state on fire with the use of thugs.

“It is common knowledge that results of this election is no longer secret in that following the successful conduct of the polls, the results at the polling unit level were duly recorded in form EC8A, which were later collated into form EC8B at the ward level and form EC8C at the local government level. All these were concluded on the election day (i.e. Saturday, April 25, 2009).

“It is also common knowledge that copies of all forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C were immediately made available to, and are already in the custody of all party agents, SSS, the Police, observers as well as other stakeholders in the state and beyond.

“It may interest you to know that most cell phones now carry the figures and as such, become public knowledge. It is amusing that the AC is now crying wolf over the 15,939 votes scored by the PDP governorship candidate, Engr. Segun Oni, in his home council representing 33.4 per cent out of the registered voters of 47,587.

“In the April 14, 2007 governorship election, Fayemi, in his ward alone, scored 3,022 votes out of the registered 3,852 voters representing a staggering 78.5 per cent to the 34 scored by the PDP.

“It amounts to double standard and high-level deception that AC wants the world to believe that Oni could not have scored as much as 33.4 per cent of the votes in the election held last Saturday in his council when Fayemi polled 78.5 per cent in just his ward in 2007 and the party did not raise a dust. “We therefore call on INEC to release the result without further delay, pending the rerun in Oye local government and also call on INEC to conduct the remaining election in Oye with maximum security to forestall a repeat of last Saturday’s experience which saw AC thugs imported from all parts of the country to scare away PDP voters”, Adeyeye stated.

Also, the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), worried by the foot dragging of INEC to declare the result in the remaining four council areas and winner in the rerun, called for caution on the part of the electoral body in order not to set the state on fire.

Rising from its emergency State Administrative Council (SAC) meeting held in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the Congress expressed displeasure that an election conducted since three days ago has not been declared by the electoral umpire, thereby giving room for crisis in the state.

In a communiqué signed by the state Chairman and Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Joseph Arogundade and Mrs B. Alafiatayo, the Congress stated that the attendant crisis which followed the delay in announcing the result is also a great concern to the SAC.

The union pleaded with INEC to be careful and not set the state on fire through its foot-dragging on the announcement.

“We hereby implore the INEC to release the result of the governorship rerun as demonstrated by the electorates in Ekiti State at the polls on Saturday, April 25, 2009 without further delay and declare the winner to forestall further crisis’.

The Acting Governor, Olatunji Odeyemi, also appealed to the people to remain calm and law-abiding, pending the conclusion of the result.

Odeyemi, while pointing out that Ekiti State was not the only state where rerun had been conducted, called on the people to await further directive from INEC.

Representatives of AC in Rivers and Bayelsa states who monitored the election also called on INEC to announce the remaining results “without further delay.”

Secretary of the group from the two South-South states, Mr Miriki Ebikibina, stated in a statement that “the tactical delay in announcing the result of the election that is 99 per cent concluded is a clear indication that not only the INEC is ineffective but determined to set the state on fire.”

Ekiti State AC supporters also trooped to the street in a peaceful protest, calling on INEC to declare Fayemi the winner. Led by the state chairman, Mr Jide Awe, they walked from the popular Fajuyi Park Road through Okeyinmi and ended at the party secretariat on Ado-Ikere road.

The development forced many civil servants and traders to hurriedly close their offices and shops.

Awe said the protest was necessitated by INEC’s delay to announce the remaining results.

Also speaking in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Fayemi urged INEC to declare him the winner, having fulfilled the required 25 per cent of the two thirds of the local governments.

Speaking with journalists at his Isan-Ekiti private residence, Fayemi said judging by the results collated so far and his outstanding from the Appeal Court ruling, he should be declared the winner without further delay.

He noted that the Electoral Act stipulated that a winner of the governorship election must win 25 per cent of two thirds of the local governments in a state, a condition he said he had fulfilled convincingly.

He maintained that going by the result from the 11 local governments now on ground, “as far as we are concerned, a winner has emerged in accordance with the Electoral Act 2006.

“The election is no longer about Fayemi becoming governor anymore but fulfilling the wishes of the people.”