A non-governmental organisation, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, has described the result of the June 21 Ekiti State governorship election as mysterious.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Governor Ayodele Fayose, had defeated the then incumbent Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress by a landslide, winning all the 16 local government areas in the state.
The Chairman, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, told SUNDAY PUNCH that Fayose’s election was a mystery.
He said, “If it was not mysterious, one would agree that an incumbent, who had not witnessed ‘governor-must-go protests’ and who the citizenry of the state had tolerated for that length of time couldn’t have performed that woefully.
“Conversely, Fayose was impeached for violating the rights of the Ekiti citizens. He has not been able to extricate himself from this and other allegations before he was allowed to contest elections. That is the first aspect of mystery.
“All the anti-graft agencies should have kicked against it, knowing that should he contest and win, he would attain the status of governor and immunity would be conferred on him.”
Adeniran also described the massive deployment of security operatives during the election as a show of strength by the Federal Government.
“It was the Federal Government’s way of showing that no matter what, it would be there for Fayose because he is in the ruling party. The same backing was extended to him when mayhem was witnessed in Ado-Ekiti.
“The closure of the high court wouldn’t have happened, if the Federal Government had not allowed the mayhem to fester without any control or anyone being punished for it. The courts ought not to have been closed because they are the last hope of the common man.
“People whose lives were at risk and had cases in those courts would not have had the opportunity of seeking the intervention of the judiciary and that could have led to the termination of lives,” Adeniran added.
Last Sunday, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Woke Soyinka, had similarly described Fayemi’s loss in the election as a mystery which he said the APC needed to unravel.
Soyinka said Fayose should continue the programmes and legacy projects started by the ex-governor.
But the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State criticised him, accusing him of imposing himself as the ex-governor’s image maker.
Copyright PUNCH.
