L
LequteMan
Guest
The Ekiti gubernatorial election may not be free and fair, because of the recent happenings in the state, as perpetrated by the PDP, APC national chairman, Odigie-Oyegun at a press conference disclosed to newsmen.
"The final electioneering campaign of our candidate in the Ekiti election, Gov. Kayode Fayemi, provided the perfect setting for the Jonathan-led administration to bare its fangs with a series of arbitrariness and unconstitutional acts that threaten the very fabric of our democracy.
“First, several APC Governors were prevented from attending the rally.
“Then while the plane bearing Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, was allowed to land at the Akure Airport, his convoy was stopped by soldiers at the border of Ondo and Ekiti state, and ordered to return to Akure by the leader of the troops, an army captain who said he was under orders not to allow him into Ado Ekiti. He threatened to shoot him if he defied his orders.
“Gov. Amaechi was detained along the road in the bush for as long as it suited the soldiers before he was forced to return to Akure. While the Governor was being detained on the road, the convoys of the Minister of Police Affairs and the Minister of State for Defence sped past and were not stopped by the troops.
Against this background, my party, the APC, doubts very seriously whether a free, fair, credible and transparent elections can be held in Ekiti on Saturday .
“Beyond the elections, we are concerned that the PDP-led federal government has grown so desperate to capture Ekiti State at all cost that it is willing to do anything, and I mean anything, to scuttle the electoral process and even threaten the very survival of our country,” he said.
“We call on our international partners to condemn this growing impunity by the ruling party and the government it controls at the centre. Actions have consequences, and whoever fails to condemn the acts of impunity being perpetrated by the central government will not have the moral right to condemn the reactions that such actions may elicit.
"The outcome of any election in Ekiti State that does not comply with the best practices. The people of Ekiti must be allowed to vote freely and without molestation for the candidates of their choice on Saturday, and the votes must not only be counted, but they must also count,” Daily Post quoted him as saying.
"The final electioneering campaign of our candidate in the Ekiti election, Gov. Kayode Fayemi, provided the perfect setting for the Jonathan-led administration to bare its fangs with a series of arbitrariness and unconstitutional acts that threaten the very fabric of our democracy.
“First, several APC Governors were prevented from attending the rally.
“Then while the plane bearing Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, was allowed to land at the Akure Airport, his convoy was stopped by soldiers at the border of Ondo and Ekiti state, and ordered to return to Akure by the leader of the troops, an army captain who said he was under orders not to allow him into Ado Ekiti. He threatened to shoot him if he defied his orders.
“Gov. Amaechi was detained along the road in the bush for as long as it suited the soldiers before he was forced to return to Akure. While the Governor was being detained on the road, the convoys of the Minister of Police Affairs and the Minister of State for Defence sped past and were not stopped by the troops.
Against this background, my party, the APC, doubts very seriously whether a free, fair, credible and transparent elections can be held in Ekiti on Saturday .
“Beyond the elections, we are concerned that the PDP-led federal government has grown so desperate to capture Ekiti State at all cost that it is willing to do anything, and I mean anything, to scuttle the electoral process and even threaten the very survival of our country,” he said.
“We call on our international partners to condemn this growing impunity by the ruling party and the government it controls at the centre. Actions have consequences, and whoever fails to condemn the acts of impunity being perpetrated by the central government will not have the moral right to condemn the reactions that such actions may elicit.
"The outcome of any election in Ekiti State that does not comply with the best practices. The people of Ekiti must be allowed to vote freely and without molestation for the candidates of their choice on Saturday, and the votes must not only be counted, but they must also count,” Daily Post quoted him as saying.
