Fayose elected governor of Ekiti state

GBENRO ADESINA, SIMON ATEBA & NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/ADO-EKITI

Mr. Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, by a wide margin, has defeated the incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of All Progressives Party, (APC) in the governorship election held on Saturday June 21 2014.

Fayose who won in all the local government areas in the state polled 203,090 votes against 120,433 votes recorded by Governor Fayemi.

Bamidele Opeyemi of Labour Party, who was said to have told his supporters to vote Fayose, after reaching an understanding with the PDP, came third with 18,135 votes.

With the landslide victory, Fayose has made a record in Nigeria as the first former governor in Nigeria to defeat an an incumbent, twice.

His victory was so emphatic and sweeping that he defeated Fayemi in his Oye local government. The outgoing governor's only solace came from his ward, where he trounced Fayose with 157 votes to one. Fayose governed the state between 2003 and 2006, also by defeating an incumbent, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, then of the Alliance for Democracy.

In the other results declared, Accord won 268, PA 146, ACPN 1822, AD 843, ADC 542, APA 1224, CPP 967, COWA 222, MNPP 137, NCP 322, PDC 921, PPA 1050, PPN 82, SDP, 95 and UDP 67.

The returning officer, Professor Isaac Azuzu, vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Oyo, officially declared Fayose of the PDP the winner of the election.

However, the result of the election was only signed by Dr. Tope Aluko of PDP and Dr. Dele Okunola of the SDP.

Other agents of the other political parties, including APC, did not sign the result as they even failed to turn up at the INEC collation centre where the result was announced.

The Director General of Ayodele Campaign Organization, Barrister Dipo Aisulowo and the former Deputy Governor of the state, Chief Olujimi said that the victory was well deserved for PDP and its candidate.

Olujimi who described the victory as wholesome said that the result showed what the people of Ekiti really want stressing that the party would now be returned into the 'mainstream government' and stop the regional government that could not pay the state.

“We will now be working with the ruling party at the centre to develop the state. We need the federal might to develop Ekiti State and that is exactly what we will do”, she added.