There Were Malpractices in Ekiti Election, Labour Party Alleges

The Labour Party (LP) in Ekiti State Thursday said it has no intention of challenging the results of last Saturday’s election won by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Kayode

Fayemi.

The party, however, insisted that the electoral process fell short of international standard, citing cases of vote-buying and ballot snatching as crimes that are posing serious danger  to the country’s electoral process.

The ex-Deputy Governor and candidate of the party, Dr. Sikiru Lawal, who spoke in Ado Ekiti, said the party had accepted the outcome of the election in good faith.

Lawal advised that the Independent

National Electoral Commission (INEC)  and the National Assembly must do something urgently about the votes-buying syndrome that was fast gaining traction in the country.

The former number two man stated that the party has many evidential proofs of ballot snatching and other electoral malfeasance that dogged the election.

He said his party decided to drop the idea of heading to Election

Petition Tribunal as a mark of respect for Ekiti citizens, who are desirous of good governance, which may be denied by the court action.

“That election didn’t meet international standard at all. There were cases of open purchase of votes and negotiation over how much to pay even in the presence of security agencies.

“In my ward at Oke Ese in Ado Ekiti, precisely ward 009, some party thugs aided by security agencies invaded the ward and destroyed all the units they suspected were not in favour of All Progressives Congress (APC). They even took away a ballot box and later returned it that was how compromised the election was.

“I got calls from LP agents in many wards where they were either chased away from the polling units or prevented from monitoring the collation process, and sad enough, security agents and INEC officials kept mute.

“But whatever we do, we must think of Ekiti State. Before I plunged into the

race, I told the state after emerging the consensus candidate of LP that the election was not a do-or-die.

“It is on this that I won’t challenge the outcome and promise to offer useful advice and make suggestions that would be of tremendous help to the success of the winner, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as the governor of our dear state,” he stated.

Meanwhile, a chieftain of the APC , Dr Olusegun Osinkolu, has advised the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to put Ekiti State first and drop its intention to challenge the election that returned Fayemi as the validly elected governor of the state.

He said the INEC neither breached the law nor committed constitutional infractions in the election by manipulating the election, adding that attempt by the PDP candidate, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, to challenge the outcome was targeted at derailing the next government.

Osinkolu added that Olusola enjoys the constitutional right to challenge the election, insisting that this could only come when the election was brazenly manipulated or figures concocted in favour of any of the parties.

The APC chieftain congratulated Fayemi and the Deputy Governor-elect,

Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, on their victory, saying the joint ticket was the best for the state, considering the parlous condition of its economy.