It was yet another victory for the ruling party APC when the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, the nation’s capital, yesterday upheld the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the July 14, 2018 election, Dr Kayode Fayemi.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, challenged the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Fayemi as winner of the poll and lost.
APC members trooped out in their thousands on the streets of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, dancing from Odo Ado to the Government House.
They ended their procession at the party’s secretariat in Ajilosun.
In its judgment delivered by Justice Suleiman Belgore, the tribunal said Fayemi was validly elected, contrary to the position of the PDP and Olusola.
Fayemi polled 197,459 voted to defeat Olusola, who got 178,022 votes to become the runner-up.
The tribunal began sitting in Ekiti last August before it relocated to Abuja, citing reasons of insecurity in the state.
The APC members, who started their jubilation from Odo Ado, were led by a House of Representatives candidate in Ekiti Central Federal Constituency I, Sola Fatoba, and the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Mobilisation, Tunji Ogunlola.
Ogunlola, who addressed the crowd, said Fayemi worked hard to win the election and that the judgment confirmed the position of the party.
The party supporters danced to the music supplied by a popular musician in Ekiti State.
The long convoy of vehicles caused traffic congestion on Ado-Ikere-Akure road.
The APC in the state had described the victory as expected, saying the party perpetrated no electoral fraud in the election to warrant the nullification and upturn its outcome.
The state’s APC Deputy Chairman Sola Elesin said: “We are happy over the outcome of the election, but we are not in any way surprised. This is because a transparent election was held on July 14, last year. It was clear that Governor Fayemi won fair and square. “So, we are not afraid, even if they want to appeal the judgment. We are ready for them because we have no skeleton in our cupboard. There were no cases of electoral malpractices.”
