‘I Don’t Lose Battles’: Fayose Reacts To Ekiti Election Result, Attacks Buhari

 

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has rejected and condemned the outcome of the governorship election held in the state over the weekend.

In a series of tweets on Monday, he accused President Muhammadu Buhari of using the security operatives to win the poll for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

READ ALSO: INEC Declares Kayode Fayemi Winner Of Ekiti Governorship Election

“On this Ekiti election, President Buhari demonstrated truly that he is not a Democrat, but a dictator and fascist per excellence,” Fayose claimed a day after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their candidate, Professor Kolapo Olusola lost to the APC.

He alleged further, “It is only Buhari that will pride himself with the security shooting sporadically at polling centres, scaring people to pave the way for the APC thugs to snatch ballot boxes.

“The President should bury his head in shame for using the Police, Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and INEC to snatch the mandate given to Olusola and deliver it to Fayemi ‘whom Ekiti people rejected’.”

INEC Announces Ekiti Governorship Election Results [Full List]

The governor, who insisted that his party was cheated in the election, claimed there was no jubilation in Ekiti after Fayemi was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He further described the victory of the APC as pyrrhic, insisting that his party would not be silenced but would work tirelessly until they get the justice they deserved.

“We will reclaim the stolen mandate in the court by the power of God,” Fayose vowed. “As for me, I am Peter Ayodele Fayose, I hold with my head high.”

“I can never be suppressed. I don’t lose battles and I will not lose this. By the power of God, I will laugh last.”

Announcing the election results on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti, INEC’s Chief Returning Officer for the poll, Professor Idowu Olayinka, returned Fayemi elected having scored the highest number of votes in the poll.

The former minister defeated his PDP opponent and Ekiti Deputy Governor and more than 30 other aspirants in the keenly contested election.

Fayemi was victorious in 11 out of the 16 local government areas of the state, polling 197,459 votes to beat his closest rival Olusola who got 178,121 votes.

A Daylight Robbery?

Following the declaration, President Buhari praised his former cabinet member, the APC, as well as party supporters for the hard-fought victory.

 

He, however, asked the governor-elect to be magnanimous in victory in his bid to unfold a new lease of life for the Ekiti people through purposeful and responsible governance.

The PDP national leadership are also on the same page with Governor Fayose on the outcome of the election.

While it took Fayose more than 24 hours to react, the party swiftly condemned the poll results as falsified and described Fayemi’s victory as “a daylight robbery, a brazen subversion of the will of the people and a direct assault on our democracy.”

But the APC insisted that with the success, Ekiti people have demonstrated their trust in Fayemi’s ability to deliver on his campaign promises.

They attributed the feat to the fact that “Mr Fayemi ran an effective and positive campaign focused on his agenda of rebuilding the economy of the state and returning its lost values of integrity, prudence, and decency”.