Ekiti: We will contest harassment of members, not results says APC

The  All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday said  the party would  seek redress in court over what it called various infractions against its members on election day.

But  the party however said it would not contest the results of the elections in tandem with the wishes of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai Mohammed who made this disclosure said   the detainment of Governor Chibuike Amaechi and other APC governors on the day of Fayemi's last rally, would one of the issues the party would raise in court.

On the emergence of Ayo Fayose as governor-elect, Mohammed said that the concession of defeat by Fayemi and the APC was evidence of the opposition's democratic nature.

“By this we have shown the world that we are true democrats and that election is not a do or die affair”, he said, maintaining that the Party had respected the wish of the people.

He also mentioned the arrest of some APC leaders the night before the election, as one of the issues for which they seek redress, noting that they had no problems with the outcome of the election, but with the process.

“Two weeks before the election, a peaceful rally by the APC was forcibly dispersed which led to the death of an individual,” he said, adding that there was no investigation into the matter.

He also mentioned that “a vehicle was intercepted containing 200 boxes of electoral material which INEC discredited as waste material” and there was yet to be an explanation for a reported aircraft carrying suspicious material, which landed in Ekiti.

Mohammed explained that “what happens before, during elections determines if the nation's democracy is being deepened.”

However, the APC spokesman said that the Party had no intention to contest the result of the election and it was standing by Fayemi's decision, unless there was compelling evidence to necessitate such a move.

“We have gone beyond the issue of who lost or who won the election”, he said, but insisted that the over-militarisation of the process created fear in the electorate which may have caused many APC loyalists to stay clear of the election.

“We have absolutely no problem or issue with law enforcement agencies in keeping peace” he said, but noted that it was a “selective keeping of peace” which was against the opposition. He claimed that members of the APC, as well as some accredited journalists had been “deported” and “forcefully removed” on the day of the election.

He further insisted that certain incidents, if not corrected, would not give the desired type of democracy.