Anenih commends Fayose, Fayemi, others over Ekiti governorship poll

Source: pointblanknews.com

I received with satisfaction and joy the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election held on Saturday, June 21, 2014, which indicated that the candidate of our party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ayodele Peter Fayose, won by polling 203, 090 votes representing 56.34 percent of the total votes cast.

The incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Kayode Fayemi, who came second, scored 120,433 votes representing 33.41 percent of the votes cast.

I congratulate Mr Fayose on his well deserved victory, which is a reward of hard work that he invested in the electioneering as well as his steadfastness in identifying with the grassroots people of Ekiti State.

This grassroots appeal dates back to 2003 when he first contested the governorship election against an incumbent governor and won.  His achievements in office which impacted positively on the people had resulted in the popular support, which he has continued to enjoy since October 16, 2006 when he left office as governor of the State.

I commend Dr Fayemi of the APC for demonstrating a good game spirit by accepting the result of the election as having flowed from a free and fair electoral process that was witnessed by election observers across the sixteen local government areas of the State.  It is remarkable that Dr Fayemi has offered to work with the governor-elect to institute a smooth transition programme.  This is a mark of a statesman which I urge other people who aspire to elective offices to emulate.

On a national scale, it is quite significant that for the first time in the annals of election in our Fourth Republic, allegations of rigging, violence and other malpractices did not feature in the conduct of a governorship election.  On this score, I must commend all the eighteen candidates and parties that participated in the election for playing by the rules of the game and, more importantly, keeping the peace of their State.  This is proof of their love for their State and its people.

I also commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the excellent conduct of the election, devoid of hitches that characterized similar elections in the past.   The leadership of INEC has proved to the world that the Commission is capable of conducting free and fair elections now and in the future.

The alertness of security agencies which were deployed to ensure that the electorate voted freely without any molestation or intimidation must also be commended.

But for the effective discharge of duties by the electoral body and the security agencies coupled with the cooperation of the candidates and the electorate, we would not, today, be celebrating the huge success story that the governorship election in Ekiti State has been.

While I pray that the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State and other subsequent elections will be as peaceful, transparent and credible as that of Ekiti State, we must all salute the President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, for ensuring the independence of the electoral body, as he has always done, in the discharge of its duties.

Chief (Dr) Tony Anenih, CFR
Chairman
Board of Trustees of PDP