Ekiti Assembly Rejects Governorship Election Result, Adjourns Till October

Agency ReporterJuly 17, 2018

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The Ekiti State House of Assembly has adjourned legislative business until October 8, citing issues of harassment and insecurity.

The house, by the resolution, will only resume duties a week to the expiration of the tenure of the governor, Ayo Fayose.

The house also condemned and rejected the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election which produced Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress as governor.

The house is dominated by Mr Fayose’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members.

House Leader, Akinyele Olatunji, described the process leading to the election and final result as unfortunate.

Mr Akinyele condemned the alleged harassment of Mr Fayose, PDP leaders across the state and members of the state assembly by security personnel.

On the long break of the house, Mr Akinyele said, “the adjournment became imperative due to the political harassment of members by security agents.”

Also speaking, the Chairman House Committee on information, Samuel Omotoso, said the election of July 14 did not meet democratic standards.

According to him, the election was marred by “outright brigandage, vote buying and falsification of results.”

The Deputy Whip of the Assembly, Ekundayo Akinleye, remarked that the outcome of the election showed Nigerians should not expect free and fair 2019 general elections.

He alleged there were discrepancies in the final figures released by INEC.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Kola Oluwawole, described the election as a show of shame, with thugs and security agents allegedly openly working for the APC.

Mr Oluwawole said figures were brazenly doubled to favour the declared winner and expressed confidence that the stolen mandate would soon be retrieved.

Deliberation on the poll led to the passage of an eighth-point resolution which stated among other things that the election was heavily militarised with palpable fear on the faces of the electorate; that the security agencies compromised to the bidding of the APC; that the APC induced voters with money with connivance of the security agencies.

The House also held that there was ballot snatching by APC thugs, while PDP supporters were molested and chased out of polling booths and collation centres in open glare of security agents.

The lawmakers resolved that “the result of the governorship election stood rejected by the House.

“That the security agencies should vacate the entrance of the Government House where they were currently laying siege and also condemned the siege on the government owned radio and television outfits by armed military personnel.”

The house called on the security agencies not to hamper the work of the Ekiti State Government.