FAYEMI, OLUSOLA CLAIM VICTORY
Duo in Neck-And-Neck Race Election Adjudged Peaceful Parties Accused of Vote Buying
Two frontline contenders in yesterday’s Ekiti governorship election, Dr Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Prof Kolapo Olusola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have predicted victory to their side, even as votes were still being counted.
The two candidates, who claimed that they were each coasting to victory, accused each other of trying to interfere with the process to their own advantage.
As at the time of going to press yesterday, results of the election, seen as a contest between Fayemi and Olusola, were still trickling in, with some showing that the race was still too close to call.
But as at yesterday evening, the two camps were already claiming an edge in the polls.
The candidate of the APC, Fayemi, through the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organization, called on Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, the main backer of Olusola in the election, to stop nursing any plan to use thugs to abort the electoral will of people as expressed through the ballot in the poll.
In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the organization, Wole Olujobi, said it was too late to abort the will of the people as freely expressed in the July 14 election which it said Fayemi was clearly in early lead.
“Information at our disposal indicates that Fayose is mobilizing his thugs to invade the collation centre to disrupt the conclusion of the election in which Fayemi is coasting home to victory,” it said.
“The attention of the world and indeed Nigerians is hereby called to the plot by Fayose to stoke violence at collation centres to disrupt the conclusion of this free and fair exercise through which Ekiti people have spoken in a clear language to have Fayemi as the governor of their choice.
“We call on security agencies to be alert to their responsibility to stop this sabotage against the nation’s law.
“The Nigerian law has spoken and Ekiti people have spoken too, and so we want to let Fayose realize that this attempt to abort this legal process will fail,” Olujobi said.
The PDP candidate, Olusola, also raised the alarm over alleged plans to tinker with results of the election.
His campaign Spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, said results in most of the local councils were being altered.
“Aside the fact that it was an election of the PDP versus all the security agencies in the country, we are confident of winning,” he said, alleging that various wards collating centres have been taken over by armed thugs backed by security agencies as it was before and during the election.
“Despite the intimidation and harassment by security agencies, we are still hopeful of winning the election but we are confronted with a clear plot to manipulate the results.
“We are therefore calling on all well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the security agencies and INEC to allow the will of Ekiti people to prevail,” he said.
The PDP also cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against accepting or announcing any result that does not reflect the true votes cast at polling centers.
The party in a statement yesterday said any attempt to do so would be a direct call for crisis.
“The people of Ekiti State already know the results that have been declared at the polling centres and as such know where the tide is flowing at every level of the Ekiti electioneering process.
“The PDP has however noted how some compromised INEC officials are allowing the hirelings of the APC to attack and chase away our party’s agents at the collation centers, particularly in our electoral areas of stronghold.
“PDP, in very strong terms, therefore cautions INEC to be guided and ensure that it is not pushed by the APC or any interest, for that matter, to subvert the will of the people as that would be a recipe for crisis,” the opposition party said. APC, PDP in neck and neck Results at some polling units monitored by Daily Trust on Sunday correspondents indicate that the two major contenders were running neck and neck, even as they have been able to deliver their respective polling units. They were also showing strongly in their strongholds.
The results show that exercise was keenly contested between Fayemi and Olusola in most of the polling units visited.
At Unit 11 in Ado Ereguru, Ward 12, Unit 4, the PDP scored 86 while the APC scored 78. But in Ologbosere compound/ Igbehin, the APC got 71 while the PDP scored 125 votes.
At Famuyibo Unit 3, Ward 12, the PDP polled 121, the APC polled 120. At Sasere Ward 12 Unit 1, the tally showed the PDP with 133 while the APC has 201.
Also at Ward 12, Unit 007 in Ado, the APC has 148 against the PDP with 69 votes. The APC also defeated the PDP at Jimba Omo Aluko Ward 12, Unit 5 where it scored 148 against PDP’s 78.
At Ogbonowo Ward 12, Unit 8, the PDP has 100 while the APC scored 130 votes. But in Ward 12 Unit 9 Ado Ekiti, the PDP turned the table against the APC, scoring 138 while the APC 186 votes.
But the APC scored 96 against PDP 94 votes at Ward 5, Unit 2 of Ado/Ijoka centre.
Also at Asasa compound Ward 12, Unit 10, the APC has 167 against the PDP’s 166.
The APC also showed its presence in Adeyinka Jimba/ Ereguru Ward 9, Unit 8 with 171 against the PDP’s 129 votes.
But the PDP beat the APC at Eleyowo/Ododa Fidado Ward 8, Unit 5 where it has 148 votes against the APC’s 90 votes.
At Ogoga palace, the PDP has 382 against the APC which scored 118 votes. Similarly, at Okeruku, the PDP candidate’s polling booth, the party won with 270 against the APC’s 81 votes.
The APC put a stronger showing at Ward 8, Unit 14 Ado where it got 177, leaving the PDP behind with 130. It repeated a similar feat at Ward 8, Unit 9 Ereguru when it garnered 171 while the PDP came behind with 127.
The keen contest between the two political parties was attributed to the fact that the two they picked their deputy governorship candidates from Ado Ekiti, the most populous city in the state. ‘Election peaceful’ The gubernatorial election was adjudged peaceful as there was no report of violence.
Voters started trooping to the polling booths as early as 6.30am to cast their ballots.
Our correspondents observed tight security at every polling booth visited, as no fewer than five policemen were seen attached to each booth. Security men were also seen patrolling the state.
At areas visited in Ado, Ifaki Ekiti, Ilejemeje, Oye Ekiti, Isan, the country home of the candidate of the APC, Dr Fayemi, the situation was the same.
Also, voters commended the early arrival of the polling officers as they arrived as early as early as from 7.15am and 7.30am and commenced accreditation and voting.
There were, however, reports of malfunctioning of card readers at some polling booths which INEC officials addressed.
Fayemi voted at his Ogilolo ward 11, unit 009 in Isan Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area of the state, around 10.45am in the company of some of his aides and party.
The PDP candidate, Olusola, voted at 11.10am, after he was manually accredited, following some hitches with the card reader. His wife’s PVC could also not be verified by the card reader.
Governor Ayodele Fayose cast his vote at 1:20pm at his Unit 001, Afao Ekiti, his country home.
Fayose accused the police of supervising ballot snatching as well as providing cover for those engaged in illegal sharing of money to induce voters. Allegations of vote buying There were allegations of financial inducement to voters in different parts of the state by major political parties to ensure victory for their candidate.
Some of the alleged financial inducement started on Friday, when political parties handed out between N4,000 and N10,000 to each voter, to woo them to their sides.
It was gathered sharing of money continued in the early hours of Saturday as residents troop to polling centres to vote.
A voter told our correspondent that they were given N4,000 each, adding that each beneficiary had to present his voter card to qualify.
Some of the beneficiaries were seen making phone calls, inviting other voters to the cash-for-vote centres.
A civil servant who did not want his name mentioned attributed what he called “mad rush for peanuts” from politicians to the high level of poverty in the state.
“It is worrisome and you can’t blame them. There is no money, people are not being paid their salaries and so many of our youths are jobless. So they expect something like this to keep their bodies and souls together,” he said.
Unconfirmed report also indicated that some politicians distributed gifts such as phones, TV sets and other valuable items.
Two civic groups, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) described the exercise as free from “significant logistics hitches.”
“This may be attributed to the well-coordinated arrangements of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the election to ensure early arrival of election officials and sensitive materials to various Registration Area Centres (RACs) across the existing 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state. The commission is congratulated for the Etrack to track the location and movement of vehicles carrying sensitive election materials in real time to their locations,” they said in their interim report as reported by online newspaper Premium Times.
“While it is too early to ascertain the level of voter turnout across the State, the electorate has shown a high level of enthusiasm in exercising their franchise, as most polling units visited in the early hours of Election Day had voters already waiting for INEC officials to arrive and commence accreditation and voting by 8.00 a.m.
“At the start, the voting process was conducted peacefully in most polling units visited by our observers. A few hours into the vote, however, there were few reported cases of violence-related incidents. In some of the polling units visited, we observed that the security personnel conducted themselves responsibly concerning their response to curtailing vote trading.”
The groups, in the report signed by Idayat Hassan and Dapo Olorunyomi for CDD and PTCIJ respectively, also highlighted the roles of security agencies in the election.