Ekiti Election Tribunal: APC Lauds Fayemi’s Victory As PDP Faults Judgement

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have reacted to the judgement of the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

The reactions came hours after the Tribunal dismissed the petition of the opposition party and its candidate in the election for lacking in merit. Deputy Chairman of the APC in Ekiti, Mr Sola Elesin, described as sound and exciting, the judgement which upheld the victory of Dr Kayode Fayemi. He added that the petition filed by against the party’s victory by the PDP was baseless.

“It was a sound judgement delivered by learned juries and we are glad that we got justice at the end of the day,” Elesin said.

“We knew we won the election free and fair and we realise that these people are making frivolous claims.”

He noted further the victory was “the beginning of good things to come”, saying the state was sure of better days ahead. The party’s deputy chairman also assured the people of the state that Governor Fayemi would do his best to make Ekiti better than he met it.

On his part, the PDP Publicity Secretary in Ekiti, Mr Jackson Adebayo” faulted the judgement of the Tribunal. He also revealed that the party would challenge the ruling of the Tribunal at the Court of Appeal.

“In Election Petition Tribunal, we have a very long space to go and we have about three stages. That is the first Tribunal,” said the PDP chieftain who noted that they still have the options of the Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court.

“Whatever (judgement) that is delivered at the lower Tribunal to an average politician is nothing to be joyous or sad about because it could easily be upturned at the other levels of the Tribunal.”

He explained that the PDP would challenge the verdict of the Tribunal at the higher level because “there were errors” in its judgement. Dr Fayemi of the APC polled 197,459 votes to defeat his PDP rival and former deputy governor, Professor Kolapo Olusola, who got 178,121 votes in the keenly contested election on July 14, 2018, in Ekiti.

At its inaugural sitting in September 2018, the Tribunal had relocated to Abuja after all parties involved in the suit demanded a change of venue for security reasons. But the Tribunal, at its resumed sitting today, upheld and affirmed the election of Dr Fayemi as the duly elected governor of the state.