THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has finally gone to the election petitions tribunal to challenge the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, 21 days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted the election won by Mr Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Interim chairman of the APC in the state, Chief Jide Awe, told newsmen in Ado Ekiti, on Sunday, that his party had filed a petition, challenging the election before the tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti.
Awe said he submitted the petition on behalf of the party to the tribunal on Saturday, “since the law allows the tribunal to also operate at weekends.”
According to him, the petition sought the assistance of the tribunal to “unravel the hidden facts surrounding the election,” saying the poll was more of “a mechanical exercise than conventional casting of votes.”
The Ekiti APC chairman said: “The results of the election were embrrassing to us as a party and we hold the view that there is no smoke without fire.”
He explained that details of the petition were centred round alleged manipulation of the election; its “undue militarisation”; alleged impeachment of the PDP candidate, as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cases hanging on the governor-elect.
He claimed that Fayose was not qualified in the first place to partake in the election exercise, aside the process of the poll’s conduct, which he claimed was faulty.
He said the party did not want to take laws into its hands or resort to self-help, hence, its decision to toe constitutional and peaceful line of seeking redress in the open court.
Reacting, chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, has said “the APC is going there to chase shadows.”
Ogundipe said on Sunday, in a telephone interview with the Nigerian Tribune, that he was not surprised, because “I knew that the APC would look for what to do to and by all means too, to remain in the news, following their crushing at the election.
“It would be interesting to see what they have this time against an election that has been the talk of the entire world in terms of credibility, fairness, organisation and security. Even the people of the state, who voted massively for the candidate of our party, Mr Fayose, would laugh at the mockery the APC is out to make of itself at the tribunal.
“It is either its natural mischief or usual deliberate deception of the people that has made it to act in feigned ignorance of extant court judgements on the issues it took to the tribunal to challenge the election.
“If not for routine academic exercise or a ploy to remain in the news for the sake of its propagandist ideals, we wonder why the APC has been the only component of the election that has seen or heard what all the other stakeholders in the entire process, including the good people of Ekiti State, have not seen or heard, but we are ready for its mischief and deceit.”
Ogundipe said “the PDP is not in the least bothered by their ranting and will meet at the tribunal,” and added that “as usual, the PDP had decided to chase shadows like it did when it was defeated in Ondo and Anambra states.”
He charged the people of the state and members and supporters of PDP in the state “ not to panic or worry, as they await the smooth takeover of government from the APC government they themselves have discredited.”
Reacting to the position of his party’s candidate in the election, Governor Kayode Fayemi, who had promptly accepted defeat and congratulated Mr Fayose, who was declared winner by the INEC, Awe explained that the party’s action was not at variance with Dr Fayemi’s action.
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 Dr Fayemi’s name was not on the ballot papers. What was contained on it was name of the party and its logo. So, the issue is beyond the governor.”
The Ekiti APC chairman added: “Let it be known to you that our candidate, Dr Fayemi, only conceded victory to guarantee continued peace prevalent in the state at the time, as well as allow the siege laid on the state by the military to cease.
“You can see that as soon as he announced that he had accepted defeat, the soldiers immediately vacated the state.”
Source: Tribune
