Jackboot Democracy. Watch the Ekiti state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo announcing the Ekiti State rerun election under Duress!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eePXWr0xIE
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the governorship rerun in Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni, yesterday formally got the nod to come back as governor of the state.
He was declared winner of the rerun in 63 wards across 10 local governments of the state by the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo.
The declaration marked the end of the tension-soaked governorship rerun, which began last April 25 and which witnessed a rescheduled poll yesterday in two wards of Oye Local Government.
But the declaration of Oni came amid confusion and protest by supporters of the opposition Action Congress (AC) at the collation centre at Christ High School, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
Immediately after the pronouncement, AC supporters moved to the streets in protest.
According to Adebayo, Oni polled 44,306 to beat Dr. Kayode Fayemi of AC who polled 28,238 votes in the 10 councils.
In the results earlier validated by the Court of Appeal, PDP has 65,743 and AC 78,091.
This brings the final figures of the governorship poll as follows: PDP-110,049 and AC- 106,329.
Oni is expected to be sworn in today in Ado-Ekiti as governor.
Meanwhile, congratulatory messages particularly from PDP leaders and governors have begun pouring in for the governor-elect.
But AC has rejected the declaration of Oni as the winner of the poll, saying it would challenge the results at the election tribunal.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary Lai Muhammed said: “It is a sad day for democracy and Nigeria. People’s vote no longer counts. The Resident Electoral Commissioner should come out and tell the whole world why she disappeared and resurfaced again. Where has her Christianity gone to?”
Fayemi had mounted a spirited challenge against Oni’s victory on the basis of the April 14, 2007 poll, alleging that the election was characterised by massive irregularities. The Court of Appeal voided the poll and ordered a rerun in 10 local governments.
Initial results of the rerun last week from five of the 10 local governments had shown Oni and Fayemi running neck and neck until other results came from four more local governments including that of Ido-Osi to which Oni’s hometown of Ifaki belongs.
A huge row had broken out at the collation centre after the Ido-Osi result was announced.
AC had contested the result in Ido-Osi which gave Oni a large margin of victory and effectively wiped out Fayemi’s initial lead. The result is PDP, 15,939 and AC, 3,793.
As it turned out, the Ido-Osi result gave Oni the final victory.
Yesterday, Adebayo invited returning officers of each LG to announce results in their LGs at exactly 6.40 pm.
Trouble, however, began shortly after the same Ido-Osi result was announced by the returning officer.
AC supporters started booing the REC right from the collation centre, shouting Ole, Ole (thief, thief).
Led by Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, former Ekiti governor Niyi Adebayo and party spokesman in the state Bimbo Daramola, AC objected to the result.
Their protest was based on the fact that at the local government, only three polling units were declared at INEC office, while those of the other units were collated at the police station.
They insisted that only the result in the three units should be recognised by INEC.
The protest held up the collation process for 45 minutes before Adebayo finally declared the result amid booing and jeering by AC supporters.
AC supporters trooped into major streets in Ado-Ekiti, chanting war songs and making bon fires on the streets. They also searched vehicles and passengers, looking for PDP supporters.
But riot policemen had a hectic time driving them off the streets.
Later, the streets were deserted as people immediately scurried home.
Earlier in the day, the election in Oye-Ekiti was marred by voter apathy, as the exercise recorded low turnout in the 36 units of the two wards.
The election was, however, held under tight security provided presence by a combined team of soldiers and policemen led by Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) John Amadu.
Voters initially shunned voting centres due to large number of security agents in the town with police helicopter hovering over Oye-Ekiti on surveillance mission throughout the election period.
On Monday, security agents had moved into the town patrolling major streets, while armed soldiers mounted road block in all entry points, conducting checks on vehicles and passengers.
However, soldiers were not sited at polling centres; only policemen were seen manning the centres.
Also, leaders of PDP and AC were in Oye-Ekiti to monitor the election.
The AC team was led by the state chairman, Chief Jide Awe, former governor Adebayo, and Lagos State Commissioner for Information Opeyemi Bamidele, while the PDP team was led by the state chairman, Chief Bola Olu-Ojo, Chief Ayo Omodara and former Deputy Governor in the state, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi.
However, a mild drama occurred in Ward 1, Unit 9, when a young girl, Miss Olutayo Ajayi, insisted that INEC should not use the front of her father’s house as polling centre.
She complained that the house was riddled with bullets during the aborted rerun last week, adding that she would not want the incident to repeat itself yesterday.
However, her effrontery angered policemen, who beat her and bundled her into a police Hilux Pick-Up van, with registration number NPF 982B.
PDP National Chairman Vincent Ogbulafor has congratulated Oni on his election.
He said Oni’s re-election has proved that Ekiti State is a PDP state.
Ogbulafor also thanked Ekiti people for voting PDP.
Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola also congratulated Oni, describing his election as the eventual triumph of democracy over brigandage, arbitrariness and cheap blackmail clothed in fake nationalism.
The governor who went Biblical declared that the victory of Oni after a long drawn battle showed that with God on one’s side, no enemy, no matter how powerful and rich can vanquish one.
He also congratulated President Yar’Adua, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President David Mark, PDP leadership and the people of Ekiti State over Oni’s victory.
The South-west chapter of PDP in a reaction by the party’s National Vice-Chairman, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, congratulated the people of the state on the successful conclusion of the poll.
While expressing the party’s appreciation to the people for once again reposing confidence in PDP, he promised that the new government would not let them down.
He, however, deplored what he called the open display of hooliganism on television by certain leaders of AC at the collation centre and urged the entire nation to see the party as the real enemy of democracy.
Rerun Election ResultS
LGA PDP AC
Gbonyin 1,925 2,871
Ekiti S/W 423 351
Ise-Orun 3,864 4,221
Ijero 5,121 1,881
Irepodun/Ife. 4,087 5,702
Ekiti West 2,497 1,149
Ekiti East 4,711 3,829
Ikole 4,471 3,639
Ido Osi 15,939 3,793
Oye 1,268 802
Total 44,306 28,238
Pre-Validated 65,743 78,091
Grand Total 110,049 106,329
•AC rejects results •Oni to be sworn in today