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| L-R: Fayose and Fayemi |
Defeated Ekiti State
Governor and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Kayode Fayemi,
on Sunday congratulated Mr. Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic
Party for winning Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
SHOWBIZPLUSng gathered that another governorship candidate, Mr. Opeyemi
Bamidele, of the Labour Party, President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP also
felicitated with Fayose for emerging victorious.
Barely hours after Fayemi’s acceptance of defeat,
the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said the
governor had spoken the party’s mind.
Before Mohammed spoke, the PDP had thrown a jab
at the APC by asking it to accept the defeat and congratulate Fayose.
Fayemi had in a broadcast in Ado-Ekiti on
Sunday said he had no choice but to accept the results of the June
21 election and congratulated the governor-elect “if indeed the outcome of the
election is the will of the Ekiti people.”
The governor, who revealed that he had spoken
with Fayose before the broadcast promised to see him later in the day.
Fayose has already extended hands of
fellowship to the governor and Bamidele. He also said at a news conference that
he would see the governor on Monday(today).
Fayemi in his broadcast said, “If indeed this is
the will of the Ekiti People, I stand in deference to your will. If the result
of the elections is an expression of the voice of our people, we must all heed
your voice.
“I have just spoken with my brother, Mr. Peter
Ayodele Fayose, congratulating him on his victory. In a few hours from now, I
would be meeting the governor-elect to discuss the future of our dear state and
how we would work together to institute a smooth transition programme.”
The governor, who admitted that the election was
“ hard fought” appealed to the people of the state to see themselves as
brothers.
He said, “As expected, in the course of the
campaigns, there were unsavory episodes as the candidates toured all the nooks
and crannies of the state to sell ourselves to the people.
“Elections tend to be highly divisive affairs
that often see a brother rising against his brother. Despite our diverse party
affiliations, and regardless of which way we voted on Saturday, we must
remember that we are all sons and daughters of Ekiti State. Ekiti is ours to
build together.”
Fayemi said the achievements of his government
would be a reference point in setting governance standard in the state.
He thanked the people for their support, saying
he had kept faith with them.
The governor added, “On our part, over the course
of the campaigns, we presented our scorecards before the people of Ekiti State.
We never at any point took your support for granted. We campaigned, we
canvassed and we traversed the nooks and crannies of this state.
“Our performance and achievements in office will
remain the backdrop against which the next government and indeed future
governments will be assessed. We are proud that with the support of Ekiti
people, we have raised the bar of excellence in governance. In all, we gave our
best, for conscience and for posterity.
“Indeed a new sociology of the Ekiti people may
have evolved. However, the task of understanding how the outcome of this
election has defined us as a people will be that of scholars. For us as an
administration and a cadre of political leaders in Ekiti State, we have fought
a good fight, we have kept faith.”
Fayemi thanked his campiagn team, supporters and
the people for their “exemplary courage and doggedness in the face of
harassment” by coming out to vote in spite of the high security presence.
He said, “To members of our party, our campaign
team and indeed all Ekiti people who defied the siege to our state to cast
their votes for our party, I salute your exemplary courage and doggedness in
the face of harassment.
“Thank you for staying the course. The incidences
of brazen harassment, intimidation and allied infractions on fundamental human
rights, which many of you suffered in the hands of agents of the state, would
be documented and communicated to the appropriate authorities for the records.”
Bamidele hails Ekiti people
In his own message, Bamidele expressed
appreciation to the people for their supports during the election, saying he
saw it “as a true reflection of a true democracy.”
In a statement by his media aide, Ahmed Salami,
the LP candidate hailed INEC and the security agencies for allowing the people
to be involved in the democratic process.
He specifically thanked his kinsmen in Iyin
Ekiti for staying by him through his campaign rallies and the
election.
Bamidele said their support was attributable to
the tremendous spread and acceptability of the LP across the state despite
being introduced to them less than five months ago.
Jonathan asks Fayose to form all
inclusive govt
In Abuja, Jonathan advised Fayose to
be humble and magnanimous in victory and commit himself to forming an
administration that would work for the advancement of the people.
In his congratulatory message, the President also
lauded INEC, security agencies and the people of Ekiti State for
the peaceful conduct of the election.
The message was contained in a
statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben
Abati.
The President said the conduct of the poll was in
keeping with his administration’s commitment to ensuring that
elections were progressively freer, fairer and more credible.
The statement reads, “President Jonathan calls on
Mr. Fayose to regard his second chance to serve as governor of Ekiti State as a
sacred mandate from God and his people which he must discharge with
immense dedication, wisdom and vigour.
“The President assures Mr. Fayose that the
Federal Government will give all necessary support and assistance to his
administration and cooperate fully with him in furtherance of the present
administration’s objective of significantly improving the living conditions of
Nigerians in all parts of the country.
“He wishes Mr. Fayose continued good health and a
very successful second tenure as governor of Ekiti State.”
Emulate us by congratulating
gov-elect-PDP
Also, the PDP described Fayose’s
victory as well-deserved.
It said in a statement by its National Publicity
Secretary, Olisa Metuh, that the poll was credible,
free and fair.
The statement read, “We are particularly elated
that the will of the people of Ekiti State prevailed and we sincerely
congratulate them for realising their yearning for a truly democratically
elected administration in their dear state.
“The outcome of this election confirms the
popularity and acceptability of the PDP and its candidate, the governor-elect
of Ekiti State.
“It brings to the front burner, the genuineness
of the crowd that throng our rallies across the country, especially in Ekiti
state. ”
It also attributed the victory to the
PDP’s “strict adherence to the principles of internal democracy,
the kernel of transparency in the conduct of our governorship primary which
produced a popular candidate, the overwhelming choice of party members.”
The party added that the victory was also a clear
confirmation of its position that the APC was not really on the ground and had
no genuine followership even in states that are under its control.
While thanking the people of the state for their
support, the PDP urged the governor- elect to ensure an all-inclusive
administration that would revamp and reposition the state in line
with its manifesto and ideology and move it “from the APC’s valleys
of poverty, stagnation and ruin.”
The PDP charged the APC to imbibe the spirit of
sportsmanship by accepting defeat and congratulating the PDP and the
governor-elect.
“We demand of the APC, the sportsmanship required
of democrats in an electoral contest by congratulating the victorious candidate
just as we did in Edo State where it won and in Ondo and Anambra states where
LPand APGA(defunct All Progressives Grand Alliance) won
respectively instead of taking to incitement and bad loser
syndrome.”
Metuh later told The PUNCH in an
interview that the PDP was happy with Ekiti people for supporting its candidate
.
When asked to comment on Fayemi’s broadcast,he
said , “For now we want to enjoy our hard earned victory. We will go back to
politics mid-week.”
He added, “Most important is the fact the
President has shown that that all he wants is free and fair elections.
“We want to savour our victory. We have dedicated
it to the people of Ekiti; to the President for ensuring a free and fair
election and for our national chairman for ensuring that the party had
transparent primaries.”
APC concedes defeat
As if it was listening to the PDP challenge, the
APC spokesman, Mohammed, said the party had admitted
that the election was free and fair and that the result reflected the wishes of
Ekiti people.
Excerpt of a brief telephone interview with its
spokesman and one of our correspondents:
What is the position on the APC on the
outcome of the Ekiti governorship election, considering the fact that Governor
Fayemi just conceded defeat?
“We absolutely accept the outcome of the Ekiti
election. We are democratic. We said if an election is free and fair, and the
outcome is the wish of the people, we will accept it.
“That is what the governor has done and of course
the governor couldn’t have made such statement without consulting with the
party leadership. What he said is the position of the party leadership.”
When our correspondent sent an SMS to him asking
if the APC would not go to a tribunal or court to contest the results of the
election, he did not respond as of 8.42pm.
Mohammed however said the
arrest of some APC leaders in Ekiti State prior the election would
be addressed separately.
We almost didn’t field Fayose
– Mu’azu
The PDP National Chairman , Alhaji Adamu Muazu,
on Sunday said Fayose would not have been the party’s
candidate if “the Nigerian factor” was considered.
Mu’azu , who led Vice-President Namadi Sambo and
members of the party’s National Executive Committee, to pay a
congratulatory visit to Jonathan, however did not explain what “the
Nigerian factor” is.
He recalled that following Fayose’s emergence as
the party’s candidate, many groups reported him to the President for allegedly
making a wrong choice.
The PDP boss however commended the President for
standing by him in his decision.
He said, “You (the President) has been patient
with me especially on the PDP palaver. You gave me the freedom to get a very
reliable candidate. I want to thank you.
“Fayose ordinarily, if the Nigerian factor comes
in, will never have been our candidate but you and I know that even after he
emerged, some groups came to you to report me that I have made the
wrong choice.
“More often, when they come to the
(Presidential)Villa, Mr. President will insist that I must be there. I have
seen the same people, I have appealed to them.
“Mr. President will still insist that I must hear
and listen, at the end of the day, the truth has prevailed with the support of
Mr. President.
“Without getting our first 11 with the
President’s support and encouragement, we would not have been celebrating
today. “
Mu’azu said Ekiti and Osun states belonged to the
PDP but the party was robbed of the states.
He said the party had been patient and prayerful,
saying that the same God who returned Ekiti will return Osun to the party.
The party chairman added, “We all
know that both Osun and Ekiti states are PDP states. We have been robbed of
them through the process we all know. We have accepted it as law-abiding people
and we have been patient and prayerful.
“God the Almighty has returned Ekiti to us. By
His special grace, He will also return Osun and many more states.”
He also congratulated Fayemi for
appreciating and accepting the will of the people, who in the first place,
brought him to power.
Jonathan said the victory was an indication that
Mu’azu who he described as the game changer would change many other things.
He said he was particularly happy that the
election result was free and fair because nobody was killed nor any property
vandalised after the result was released.
Also in Abuja, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, hailed Fayose for winning the poll and the
incumbent governor for conceding defeat.
“The governor’s action to congratulate his
opponent was a clear proof that our politics is imbibing standard global
practice associated with electioneering process”, he said in a statement by his
Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Imam Imam.
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