Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has lamented the outcome of the Ondo State Governorship election, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) connived with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its collaborators in the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) to rig the election before it was conducted.
He said; “Much as I would have loved to congratulate the winner, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), because in every contest, there must be a winner and a loser, the role of INEC in awarding victory to him in the election left much to be desired.”
The governor, who reacted to the outcome of the election in a
statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayina, said INEC gave the APC victory in the election by deliberately replacing the name of Mr Eyitayo Jegede, the PDP candidate, thereby creating legal logjam that lasted till three days to the election.
He said that the PDP went to the election with its hands tied to the
back because of the uncharitable actions of INEC, which has no doubt
become an arm of the APC.
He maintained that apart from the APC, political parties in Nigeria
are now contesting elections against INEC.
Fayose lamented that “to sustain the ‘see and buy’ strategy
and legalise money politics, the APC-led federal government
deliberately created poverty in the country so as to continue to
enslave the minds of Nigerians with peanuts to get their votes on election day, saying; “Dibo ko sebe (vote and collect money to cook soup) was the slang used by the APC in the Ondo State election and that only worked because the APC federal government have put Nigerians in abject poverty.”
He said; “Even though INEC allowed what appeared like a free and fair atmosphere on the election day, the election had been won and lost before it was held.
“For instance, INEC that witnessed the PDP primary election that
produced Mr Eyitayo Jegede succumbed to pressure from the APC cabal to
replace him with Jimoh Ibrahim, who did not take part in any primary
election known to the Electoral Act.
“What could anyone have done under 72 hours in an election that was
heavily monetised by the APC?
“The whole process was a deliberate sabotage by INEC, which has
totally bastardised the electoral process.
“Obviously, all these shenanigans are geared towards turning Nigeria
to a one party state by weakening all opposition parties ahead of the
2019 general elections but I can assure Nigerians that this will not last because the people will always defeat tyranny.”
