Ekiti APC members celebrate Fayemi’s tribunal victory

Following the tribunal judgement in Abuja, which upheld the election of Dr Kayode Fayemi as the winner of the July 14, 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State, members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state celebrated the victory by marching through Ado Ekiti streets in jubilation.

The jubilant party supporters had marched to the government house from parts of the state capital, with many of them wielding the symbol of their party, which is broom.

A band of the supporters had been ked from the Odo Ado area of the state capital by a House of Representatives candidate in Ekiti Central federal constituency I, Mr Sola Fatoba and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Mobilisation, Mr Tunji Ogunlola.

Ogunmola, who addressed the supporters, said Fayemi had “worked very hard to win the election and that the judgement had confirmed the position of the party.”

The party members’ procession had moved to the party’s secretariat in Ajilosun area of the town, where the leaders of the party addressed them.

Deputy Chairman of APC in the state, Mr Sola Elesin, said the victory was expected, saying “the party perpetrated no electoral heist in the election to warrant the nullification of its outcome.”

Elesin said: “We are happy over the outcome of the election, but we are not in any way surprised, because the transparent election was held in the July 14 governorship election.

“It was clear that Governor Fayemi won fair and square, so we are not afraid even if they want to appeal the judgement. We are ready for them because we have no skeleton in our cupboard. There were no cases of electoral malpractices.

“We have won two litigations since Fayemi came on board. He was taken to the court on his eligibility to contest the APC governorship primary and he won. He was taken to the Election Petition Tribunal, he also came out victorious. We will continue to win because we have no skeleton in our cupboard.”

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Olusola reacts, vows to challenge verdict

Candidate of the PDP in the election, Professor Kolapo Olubunmi Olusola, in reaction, to the judgement, described it as “perversion of the truth of the highest order and rape of democracy.”

Olusola claimed in a statement that the tribunal upheld “electoral fraud”, saying  “the fraud called ‘victory’ of Dr Kayode Fayemi cannot stand because it doesn’t represent the truth.”

According to Olusola, in the statement signed by Onaopemipo Akinloye, he was surprised, claiming that despite “the avalanche of evidence of massive electoral fraud committed by the APC and the INEC which he placed before the tribunal,” the tribunal still uphold Fayemi’s election.

He vowed to challenge the judgment at the appeal court and appealed to his supporters and PDP members to remain calm and continue in their prayers, assuring that victory will come their way soon.