Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has revealed that the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to which he belongs, actually lost the
governorship election in Edo state because its candidate in the
exercise, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, contested against an alleged federal
government-influenced Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The election was won by Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), even though the PDP has rejected the result of the
exercise alleging fraud.
The governor said while his party and its candidate were battling
INEC, the APC earned its own victory with the use of federal government
agencies which subverted the will of the people.
Fayose lamented that the win-at-all-cost attitude of the APC was inimical to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.
He further said it was sad that instead of the people of Edo state to
elect their own governor, the APC conspired with INEC to foist its own
governor on the people.
Reacting to the outcome of the election through his spokesperson,
Lere Olayinka, the governor said it was unfortunate that those whose
‘change’ was made possible because the then PDP government allowed the
people the freedom to make a choice have now eroded the independence of
INEC.
“The stage for the manipulation of the election was set by the use of
security agencies to postpone the election, even when there was no
single security threat and what was witnessed in Edo state last
Wednesday was the execution of the rigging plans perfected after the
postponement,” Fayose said in the statement made available to NAIJ.com.
The governor said it should be obvious to all lovers of democracy in
Nigeria and the international community that the APC-led federal
government would never allow a free and fair election in the country as
the PDP and other opposition parties now contest elections against INEC.
“The power of the people to choose their governor was completely robbed at gunpoint in Edo state.
“Unfortunately too, these elements have even murdered the rights of
Nigerians to protest against the subversion of their will and it is now
obvious that only the insistence of Nigerians can save democracy in the
country.
“Like I have said before, we are already seeing signs of what to come
in 2019 and Nigerians should know by now that it will only take their
insistence for their votes to count as long as these APC elements remain
in power,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) has congratulated Edo people for the successful election.
In a statement made available to NAIJ.com by its executive chairman,
Nelson Ekujumi, the group said: “We applaud the massive turnout of the
people of Edo state to the polling units as well as their peaceful and
orderly conduct throughout the exercise and for being vigilant in
ensuring that their votes manifest in the public count and announcement
of results at the polling units.
“We sincerely commend the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) for its unbiasedness and professionalism in the adequate and
timely deployment of men and materials to all the polling units in the
192 wards of the 18 local governments of Edo state.
“We congratulate the electoral body for the improved efficiency of
the card reader and trained personnel who exhibited mastery of electoral
materials that left no one in doubt about a new and improved INEC ready
to deliver on its mandate to the Nigerian people.
“We equally commend the security agencies for their neutrality,
professionalism and strict observance of the provisions of the electoral
act by its adequate deployment of unarmed security personnel to the
polling units and for their courteous conduct at strategic road blocks
meant to curb unnecessary movement of persons during the election which
signposted its readiness to combat any security challenge.
“We commend the local and international observers for a job well done
as well as the media for their critical roles in engendering democracy
by their professional conduct throughout the exercise.
“By and large, we commend all the political parties and their
candidates who contested the election and wish to admonish the winner to
be magnanimous in victory in rallying the other contestants to see the
election as a victory for democracy and the good people of Edo state who
deserve to reap the dividend of democracy through a better life through
the exercise of their franchise.
“However, if any candidate is aggrieved, we at CPPM, wish to admonish
them to explore the civilized and democratic means of approaching the
courts rather than taking the law into their hands as witnessed at the
state collation centre on the 29th of September, 2016.
“The 2016 Edo state gubernatorial election from our on field
observation and reports gathered from across the 18 local government
council areas on election day has been generally adjudged as free, fair
and credible and the outcome, a reflection of the will of the people as
expressed via the ballot box, which is a victory for democracy that
emphasizes the supremacy of the peoples will.”
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