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  • ‘Ekiti, Osun elections will shock Nigerians’

    ‘Ekiti, Osun elections will shock Nigerians’

    It may not be good music to the ears of many, but Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Lagos, says his sometimes controversial prophecies are messages he is under God’s instruction to deliver. And as the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States draw nearer, the man, many of whose predictions have come to pass is warning of danger ahead. He spoke with ADEKUNKE YUSUF and SINA FADARE

    There was a time that you predicted that if care was not taken, Nigeria may break up. Do you still stand on that prediction and if you do, can prayer avert the breakup of the country?

    The Nigeria issue will start from 2015, when you are going to start seeing what will become of the country in the nearest future. If you recall that in 2010, I granted an interview in The Nation where l said that President Jonathan should not contest 2011 general election. A lot of people raised eyebrow that you cannot say that about him. All what l foresaw then is what is happening now. I said something about confab that it will come up. This ongoing confab will only tell Nigerians what will happen in the future. I still foresee another confab that will start afresh and decide what Nigeria will be; it will tell us the Nigeria of now and what it will be in the nearest future. That confab will tell us either we are going to be together or not. I do not see Nigeria as a nation in the nearest future. It may not be 2015, it may even go beyond 2020; l don’t see Nigeria as a nation in the next 50 or 60 years. May be prayer can help, but l see Nigeria breaking up in the nearest future, but l do not know the exact time.

    You also once said that the break-up will happen without shedding blood. Can you shed more light on this?

    Let me start with the issue of Boko Haram. It is not an Islamic movement; it is an entity that cannot be explained. They came from the fallout of politicians. America is aware of the deadly sect but just refused to help Nigeria. If there is going to be problem in this country as regards what the country is passing through, America should be blamed. They are aware of this insurgence that is plaguing the country since 2002. I made mention of it in my book of prophecy that is due for public presentation in July. I said it in the past that terrorists will invade Nigeria. By the time of my prediction, nothing happened  – not until November 2010, when we saw bomb scare in Abuja during the Independence Day. I believe that the book was sent to everywhere for the people to read, to understand and know what to do.

    Prophecy is to warn an individual, corporate body and government of the impending danger and what to do in order to avert it. When you warn, it does not matter whether you like that person or not, that was how it was in the past. Prophet will go to government, leaders and people in authority to deliver God’s message to them in the form of prophecy, but today people do not take it in good faith. They do not listen to the prophets of God, an indication that they berate God. That is the consequence. Nigeria will divide at a conference where what to be done will be the central focus and there will be no war or shedding of blood when the disintegration will take place. There will be pockets of crises here and there, a lot of disagreement, but it will not lead to war before Nigerians go their different ways. There is a lot of disagreement in the Federal Government; they can still curtail it if they listen to the voice of God. Take for instance, when government said that power will be stable in 2010, l said then that power will not be stable until 2016-2017. They did not like it, but you can see what is happening now.

    In some of your past predictions, you warned President Jonathan not to contest 2015 presidential election and if he does, he may not complete the term. Do you still hold on to this prediction?

    If Jonathan does not contest, expect more crises. If any other party wins the presidency, expect crisis. If Jonathan contests and wins, expect crisis. We have only two major parties. Within them a lot of crises will erupt, only God will help us. Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb, we need prayers. That is why l am forced to ask the question, what is the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) doing? This problem we have in the country is not from God, but man-made. That is the reason why we can still overcome the problem. If it is God problem, it will be difficult.  If Buhari contests, he may not likely get there. Jonathan wants to contest, I still see him on that seat. If Jonathan contests, he will still win because there will be the eleventh-hour packa-ging that would assist him, but the future is shaking. l foresee more troubles, I see a trouble that will keep that government not moving steadily. It will not be running as expected.

    Nigeria needs proper cleansing, but who is going to lead the cleansing now, I do not know because CAN is now the third political party we have in the country. We need prophets and Imams who will pray for the country to avert this looming danger. Jonathan meant well for this nation, but he has bad aides.

    Let us divert a bit. Governorship elections are coming up in Ekiti and Osun states this year. What did you see on this?

    The elections in Osun and Ekiti states will shock Nigerians. Let us pray very hard so that there will not be bloodshed in the coming elections in the two states. There will be certain areas in Ekiti where the election will not be conclusive. That of Osun State, election will be a bit delayed in some areas. However let us pray for the two states irrespective of who will win the election. I see bloodshed in Ekiti and Osun; the people should be very careful and everybody should pray so that this will not happen – stealing of ballot boxes, killing and political thuggery are not good for the nation.

    On my own part, I have been praying. Other Nigerians, prophets and clerics should join to do so. We should fast to avoid the looming danger. From today to the May 31, we should fast and pray because of Ekiti and Osun elections. Without God, we are not going to get solution to most of our problems. He is the Alpha and the Omega and has solutions to all problems. We should ask God in prayer to direct us aright as a nation. It is now that prophets must be involved in the administration of this country. In the area of security, people should not be biased about religions, whether Christianity or Islam. Take for instance, the Malaysian plane, a prophet said he was aware about the missing plane. Why didn’t he warn the country ahead of time? The same prophet also said that he saw the plane in the water, the second week that the Lord spoke to me; I responded that the plane is not inside water; tomorrow it may be, I don’t know.  The plane did not crash, let the Malaysian government disclose where it is.

    Are you saying the disappearance of the Malaysian plane and inability to find the crash site is political in nature?

    Whatever they call it, the missing plane is at home (in Malaysia).

    Since you said God revealed to you that Nigeria will definitely break up, don’t you think that the breakup may come at the end of the on-going confab?

    No. The confab will only come out to say one or two things about the 2015 elections. The government is not ready for this confab; they just want to use it to know what is going on in the country. It is just a mere rehearsal for the future of the nation. When the government declared that the GDP of Nigeria is improving, whereas the Lord said that the economy of Nigeria will not be stabilised until 2016 and 2017. Whoever predicted the theory of the GDP is only predicting the future of Nigerian economy. The confab is just a primary of the bigger confab that is coming ahead in the nation. The new confab will be a new set of people, not the re-cycled leaders, old men who are in the present confab.

    You said Nigeria needs prayers and spiritual cleansing at these trying times. Is the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria doing anything in that direction?

    Who are the people in CAN? We have people with pedigree who can handle the association better. Not me, l cannot. People who can do it are there, why do they have to make CAN a political issue? My suggestion is that let CAN be scrapped or Ayo Oritshejafor should resign. The association has been turned into a political party; you see them taking themselves to court. If they want to do election now, they canvass to people; it ought to be more of a spiritual thing. CAN and other religious bodies should help the government. I understand that there are inter-religious bodies in the country, but they are not doing anything. If they are functioning as expected, a lot of things are supposed to have been fixed

    If truly Nigeria is blessed with a lot of men of God, why are we in this mess? What went wrong?

    Let me correct an impression, not all pastors are prophets. If you are not gifted as a prophet, you cannot know what to do if a nation is in crisis. It is different from a spiritualist, who has the source of his power through other means, but a prophet is linked with God and he delivers his message to whomever he was sent to. That is what most of these Pentecostal churches do not know. The Bible says my people perish because of lack of knowledge.

    You said prayers can avert the impending doom. Does it mean people should visit your church for spiritual solutions?

    No, not like that. When you came in, did you see any visitation time? All what we are saying is that if the Lord sent us to the nation, we must deliver the message. I thank God what I will eat till kingdom come has been provided by Him. When He calls you, definitely He will cater for your needs. As a prophet of God, you have a covenant with Him and He is going to be with you till the end. When you follow God’s instructions, He will surely bless you. What gains will I be looking for? Is it national awards? I have them in excesses. My position is higher than the president’s, therefore I don’t need all these so-called awards. I have done a lot, not only in Nigeria alone, but all over the world. Recently, I received a letter from Buckingham palace; they acknowledged our book of prophesy. I got another one from Israeli government. So, I do not need man’s commendation but that of God and if you are doing His work, you are blessed. I have a house and a vehicle. What else am l looking for?

    There was a time you warned Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State against his aides that they will foment trouble. It came to pass. Will the governor win a second term?

    The APC should be very careful in Ogun State. Otherwise, it will lose the state. The crisis in the state is a man-made problem and they have to work on it well, otherwise it will cost APC the governorship of the state the same way it did PDP in 2011.

    What is the idea behind the Veteran Welfare Group, an NGO you identify with?

    Though, it is a non-governmental organisation, we use it as a vehicle to get to the needy, particularly the widows, orphans and the less privileged. God is the brain behind it. To run such an NGO with millions of naira and commitment every year is divine.

    What is the outlook for 2015?

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be watchful so that they will not be pressurised to change the date of the election. Certainly, election will be conducted in 2015, but not in every place. There will be more bomb scares. There will be lots of kidnappings. That is why I am using this medium to appeal to all Nigerians irrespective of their religion to fast and pray in the first 15 days of January 2015, in order to save the country from the impending doom. A lot of things are going to happen in INEC and Jonathan will sack more ministers. The Petroleum minister will face a tough probe and they will want her out by all means, likewise the Director General of the Stock of Exchange, Mrs. Aruma Oteh. The House of Representatives will not rest until the two of them are sent packing. Let the All Progressive Congress (APC) be very careful in Rivers State, otherwise the party will lose the state. The people that the governor thought are behind him will shock him. It is a warning from the Lord, not from a human being. This is just a simple advice from God Almighty.

    Though a prominent cleric, many still don’t know you. Who is Primate Elijah Ayodele?

    I believe so much in things that are natural, I don’t believe in people deceiving themselves.  I come from a humble family in Ekiti, with The Apostolic Church background. In my youthful time, l attended a lot of churches – Anglican, Methodist and a host of others. I was a servant in the Catholic Church

    I believe in the efficacy of prayer and hard work, unity and creativity. I so much believe in God’s direction. I don’t go to parties because l don’t know how to dance. But like King David, l can dance for hours in the presence of God. I love gospel music especially those that are inspirational.

  • Afe Babalola Foundation to give N5 million to outstanding farmers in Ekiti

    Legal icon wins Man of the Year Award in Food Security

    With effect from May 1, 2015, the Afe Babalola Foundation (ABF), in conjunction with the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) will be organising an annual agricultural exhibition where deserving, innovative and successful farmers will go home with N5 million each year.

    The legal icon and foremost educationist,  Afe Babalola (SAN) said the annual event which will start from his native Ekiti State would see the Best Farmer at the state level getting N1 million while other outstanding farmers in each of the state’s 16 local government areas will be presented with N250,000 each.

    Babalola spoke during his investiture as Africa Man of the Year in Food Security 2014 by the Forum for International Green Sustainability (FIGS) a not-for-profit body at the weekend.

    Winners at the state and local government levels must have at least two hectares of farmland, one for annual crops and the other for permanent crops or in the alternative excel in animal production, Babalola said, while explaining the prerequisites for the award.

    This way, Babalola believes the country will retrace her steps to the pre-oil era in Nigeria when there was abundance of food, gainful employment and reduction in criminality.

    His words: “In the pre-oil era in Nigeria, there was abundance of food items. No one lacked food. Many people were gainfully employed. But with the advent of oil which some people cynically dubbed oil doom, scarcity of food, poverty and unemployment as well as inclination towards crime crept into the fabrics of the Nigerian nation to the disadvantage and consternation of all.

    “Because of this condemnable abandonment of agriculture, the groundnut pyramids of the North, the cocoa and perm kernel of the West, the rubber of the Mid-West and the coal and palm oil of the East have gone into oblivion, at best into obscurity,” he added.

    The frontline lawyer therefore called on all Nigerians, no matter their callings, to return to the farm to checkmate the prevalence of hunger, unemployment and insecurity in the country.

    Babalola said though they may not produce in commercial quantity; yet it is incumbent on all professionals to at least produce what their families would eat.

    The elder statesman equally advised the nation’s universities to look in the direction of impacting their host communities in character and functional education in addition to their excelling in learning and research.

    He stressed that it was his fervent belief in reformatory education that prompted his establishment ABUAD in 2010, with ABUAD Agricultural Enterprise Centre sitting on an 1,000-hectres which boasts an array of tree such as mango, teak, gmelina, and a Moringa Factory worth over N1 billion, in addition to banana, cassava and Mushroom farm, as well as arable crops among others.

    Speaking earlier, FIGS’ National Programme Coordinator and Regional Representative of the Organizing Committee, Mr. Caleb Osasona, said Babalola was considered worthy of the award because of his exploits in food security, job creation, and other investment over the years into his ABUAD Enterprise Farm.

    Osasona said Babalola was picked for the Award after satisfying the seven key criteria namely:  Integrity, project & asset transparency, infrastructure & deployment of technology, job creation window with emphasis on host community, use of local content, domestic, export potential index and lastly, long term sustainability.

    FIGS is a non-governmental organisation with Tax Exempt Status in the United Kingdom, with a mandate to bridge the gap of extreme hunger and poverty in every home in Africa by preaching the gospel of ‘one crop at a time’. It was inaugurated in Nigeria as a Regional Chapter Abuja in 2006 with 52 mentors and over 1,000 volunteers in the nation’s six geo-political zones.

  • Three held for ‘illegal possession of arms’ in Ekiti

    Three men have been arrested in Ekiti State for “illegal possession of arms”.

    They were said to be members of a political party.

    Police Commissioner Felix Uyanna said yesterday that the suspects were arrested in Ikere-Ekiti around 6:30pm on Tuesday.

    Uyanna said four rifles and assorted charms were recovered from them.

    He said: “Some members of the public heard a gunshot and alerted the police. My men raided the place and arrested the three men. They were about eight or nine that committed the offence and we will arrest the others soon. They will be charged to court alongside the people they mentioned as their sponsors when we conclude our investigations.”

  • ‘PDP can’t bounce back in Ekiti’

    ‘PDP can’t bounce back in Ekiti’

    The Chairman of Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Hon. Bimbo Daramola, spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s preparation for the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State and issues that will shape the exercise.

    What are the issues that will shape Ekiti governorship election?

    There are a number of issues. The performance of Governor Kayode Fayemi is the main issue. That is the first thing of substance. That will be the thrust of the campaign. We are going to have a campaign that will be issue-driven and agenda setting. My candidate , the campaign organisation and, by extension, the people are not just angling for a second term for the sake of second term. In the last three and half years, Governor Kayode Fayemi has laid a good template. That is an issue that would shape the campaign and the election . I know that the opposition is also there rearing their heads. As a political party, they want to expand their territory and I am inclined to assume that, between 2003 and 2007, they were in power and the train that moved from Lagos hit Edo , ran through Ondo and berth at Ekiti and Ekiti and then, moved to Oyo and eventually closed in on Ogun State.

    You will also agree with me that, may be, it may not be nice that one of us who used to be a member of the family said he would be at the ballot for this election. All of these will shape this election by all intent and purposes. There is nothing you can do about that. You cannot run away from these facts. Elections are won on the basis of political parties and driven by individuals and the people ultimately have their way and every other thing will key into this.

    In the last registration, Ekiti APC registered about 200,000. Do you think that your candidate stands a chance of defeating the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party?

    The APC registered members in excess of 200,000 and the total registered voters in Ekiti is about 649,000. Elections are won on the basis of so many factors. It would have been a completely different thing, if we did not have an incumbent or all the candidates are running as fresh candidates. But, the truth of the matter is that the strength of the party is a factor. But, strength means nothing. It is just like trying to ascribe power to the size of a dinosaur, which today is facing extinction because the size of dinosaur may not be helpful. They have said that the PDP is the largest party in Africa and all that jargon. But, we also know that the party is depreciating and decimating as we speak . I don’t want to bench mark the success of our elections on the fact that we are driven by population. Dr. Kayode Fayemi has been able to do many things for Ekiti in three and half years .

    I have said that at different times that up to now, there is no one coming into the election with tangible assets as my candidate. He is not coming into the election with promissory notes. He is coming into the election to say that he has done some things and that he will do more, if re-elected. You do not mouth reputation. You earn reputation and the performance and reputation of delivery and good governance have added value tangibly to the lives of Ekiti people . It is something on the streets that no one can deny and I will expect that those people who are direct beneficiaries of the impact of his good governance in the past three and half years will not fold their hands and entrust their fate and fortune into unsteady and shaken hands. They will rather entrust their fate and fortune into a steady hands and consolidate on the good work in the past three and half years.

    Why is the governor insisting on second term in office?

    There is no insistence on second term. We are saying, if you have a family or mechanic who has been attending to you or a mechanic who has been fixing your car over the ages and he has been doing it well, it is likely that you will trust him much more when challenges arise. My candidate has tried in the last three and half years to justify the mandate the people gave him in 2007 . My candidate and my party are products of adversity . We are all students of history. We all know how we got to this point. Thank God, today, my candidate has turned our adversity to prosperity. What he has done justifies the fact that people were behind and beside him during the period of adversity and travail. I am sure all of those things will come into reckoning. I don’t think the people will suffer selective amnesia. It is the officials that suffer amnesia, not the people. If the people suffer amnesia, nobody will give credit to Chief Obafemi Awolowo today for his free education programme.

    Why is the governor expressing fears about rigging?

    I am not aware that my governor is expressing fears. In any case, there is the fear of the unknown. As human beings, we wake up , step out of our homes , committing our lives into the hand of God. There is always the fear of the shadowy. But, the truth of the matter is that we have to confront our fears because we will soon know that they do not exist .We have seen it before. Don’t forget that we are Ekiti people, that we do not brook cheating, we do not brook injustice. Dr. Kayode Fayemi was not in office when Ekiti people stood by him head to head, toe-to toe and did not blink. We were not in government. But, we pursued the mandate and, by the grace of God, it was eventually delivered into our hands. He has treated that mandate with so much sanctity. The recognition of that alone will aid the resolve of our people to stand beside him and by him to ensure that, no matter what the electoral marauders are trying to do, they will not succeed.

    In concrete terms, what are the fears?

    The fear is not be too far-fetched. We have seen the seeming incompetence and lack of capacity of some of the institutions responsible for the conduct of elections in the country. We have seen time and time again how INEC has been apologising to Nigerians for the failure in Anambra and Delta. It will be in the interest of President Goodluck Jonathan and his party to ensure that they play fair and ensure that the will of the people prevails in the election. It will be the fairest thing to do. We know that this country is been tugged out at every corner, regardless of the talking session in Abuja . The true test of the direction of the conference will be determined by elections in Ekiti because the election is about allowing the people to exercise their civic responsibility.

    What do you think was responsible for the high number of aspirants in the PDP, ahead of the primaries?

    It is a sad spectacle and I am too sure this is one of the eternal legacies of the Fayemi Administration. By the grace of God, before the end of the second term of Governor Fayemi, those aspiring to Okebadeke in Ekiti State will not find it very comfortable anymore. Dr Fayemi would have sufficiently raised the standard such that anybody that aspires to lead Ekiti State will, first of all, benchmark himself. People will point to him that, having seen the legacy and credential that your predecessor has left, you are or not competent to fit into these shoes. Some of the things they have said about Governor Fayemi is that he is not governor ‘jule’ or a governor who goes to eat ‘bole’ on the street, market place or doing things that are populist. He is not building stomach infrastructure. He has no character of a governor who goes to the streets to buy bole and groundnut from the woman on the street. That may not be bad. But, can you compare that to a governor who ensures that 25,000 senior citizens get a stipend of N5,000 monthly and subsidies their healthcare. In the long run, people are better off than a governor given to emotional sentiments and goes to the street to say how much is your ‘bole’ and pays N5,000 for it and that is where it ends. You don’t wish to just be a leader. You must earn it. You must possess some qualities. One of them is the clear vision of where you want to take your followership to. You must have an agenda that will be driven by the people.

    The leader must take the lead. This is a governor that provided 30,000 laptops for students and another 18,000 laptops for their teachers and trained them. This is because he knows that there is no profession that does not have ICT components in it. The world is not waiting on Ekiti and we cannot afford to play catch-up anymore. Governance all over the world has a goal and the ultimate destination is to ensure that the quality of life of the people gets better. That is the essence of governance. Anything that is short of that is defeatist. If a governor has imbibed that and manifested that sufficiently enough and the people are saying, if we have entrusted our mandate into your hands for three and half years and it turned out this well, you deserve another term. For instance, the Ikogosi Spring laid prostrate for 21 years under the successive governments.

    It never caught their attention. It took Dr. Kayode Fayemi to reverse the trend and created jobs for people. Ikogosi t played host to the Nigerian Media Merit Award. In December, last year, 20,000 people went to the place. If everyone of them spent N200, that would have developed the economy of Ikogosi, which eventually would have robbed off on the economy of the state. This is what a leader should do. But, the only governor who had the mind that something good could come out of Ikogosi was Otunba Niyi Adebayo. If your child has performed well, the next thing is to promote him to the next class. We have a candidate the Ekiti people believe have earned it.

    The opposition is saying that the governor has been completing the projects of the previous administration. What will the governor do differently in his second tenure, if re-elected at the poll.

    The argument is a bad one. You spent public money to repair roads in Ekiti and you didn’t finish the roads and another governor came out to do the right thing. Is that not a laudable achievement?

  • Ekiti: The PDP’s morbid obsession

    Ekiti: The PDP’s morbid obsession

    When Vice President Namadi Sambo the other day declared Ekiti and Osun “war fronts” in which   the PDP was set to do full battle to win back power in the looming gubernatorial elections, the attentive audience might well have dismissed the vow as delusional, and the metaphor as over-wrought.

    This, after all is the silly season, the time for political hot air.

    To react in that manner would be dangerous, however.  For it fails to take into account the PDP’s morbid obsession with the two states, especially Ekiti, of which Sambo’s declaration was merely   the latest expression.

    Against all indications to the contrary, spokesperson after spokesperson in the PDP has claimed Ekiti not merely as a state in which it has a respectable following but as their stronghold, a “PDP state” in their phrasing.

    Vincent Ogbulafor, the former PDP chairman now standing trial for criminal breach of trust, said so.  His successor Okwesilieze Nwodo, who was dismissed from the post well before his tenure was up, said so.  Bamanga Tukur, who succeeded him and ran the party like an overbearing school principal, said so before he was deposed and dispatched to use his management skills to whip the railways into the mid-20th century.

    Ekiti was PDP territory until four years ago when the gubernatorial elections in that state and Osun were stolen from the PDP through judicial legerdemain, Namadi Sambo and company have been saying, and that recovering those offices in the forthcoming elections, come what may, was the PDP’s firm resolve.

    Whatever it may be, Ekiti has never been a “PDP state.”

    In the 1999 general elections that terminated military rule, Ekiti elected a State Assembly in which the Alliance for Democracy (AD) enjoyed a controlling majority, and a governor on that party’s platform.  More tellingly, it rejected in overwhelming numbers the presidential candidate of the PDP.

    Four years later, a general election that local and international observers said was far and away the most fraudulent they had witnessed  anywhere, literally buried the ACN in Southwestern Nigeria bar Lagos, where the canny Governor Bola Tinubu who honed his political skills in the toughest streets of Chicago had correctly anticipated and foiled the grand design of the fixers.

    That monumental heist delivered the PDP to Ekiti, with a political nonentity, all flash and no substance as governor, and a razor-thin majority in the State Assembly.

    Ayo Fayose’s time in office is largely remembered as an encounter of the unprepared with the unforeseen.  Ekiti lurched from one crisis to another as he amused himself flying over its compact territory in an executive helicopter.  Not for him the cratered roads crying out for repairs. He conceived no scheme more sophisticated than a so-called integrated poultry project that gulped billions of Naira without producing a single egg.

    He became a liability even to the PDP that had steamrolled him into office and was impeached.  The EFCC sandbagged him with a charge sheet so comprehensive that, if convicted, he would need several lifetimes to complete the cumulative sentence.

    But the PDP was determined to hold on to its stolen trophy.  It rigged its candidate Segun Oni into office at the election that followed.  Instead of voiding the entire poll, the courts ordered a re-run in those constituencies where it had been marred by violence and irregularities.  The PDP repeated the offence with brassiness on a scale almost beyond belief, leading the Returning Officer to declare that she could not in her Christian conscience announce the results handed to her.

    Several days later, without formally renouncing her faith, she put aside her Christian conscience, dutifully read the confected returns, and urged those who felt aggrieved to go to court.

    The ACN pursued the matter all the way to the Appeal Court, which declared that its candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, had been duly elected governor of Ekiti State.

    In those towns where Fayose and Oni were not frankly despised, including the state capital, Ado-Ekiti, they were accorded only a tepid welcome.  But even with Federal Might and “Africa’s biggest political party” behind them, they spent so much of their time and the state’s resources trying to shore up their insecure hold on power that they had little left to pursue meaningful development.

    Since Dr Fayemi took office, Ekiti State has been a different place.  He has reached out to the state’s legion of learned men and women whom Fayose and Oni alienated to generate ideas and programmes of development.  He restored education to the centrality it has always enjoyed in the life of the people.

    He has completed the roads Fayose and Oni abandoned, and constructed new ones.   He inaugurated a social safety net that provides monthly stipend for older residents, the first in Ekiti and one of the first nationwide. For the first time since its establishment, the Ikogosi Warm Springs can now be called a resort, and a tourist destination.

    Dr Fayemi has accomplished all this and much more quietly and almost unobtrusively, without the histrionics that marked Fayose’s era or the smug vindictiveness of Oni’s time.  Ekiti is thriving in ways it has never known. There, “transformation” is not a slogan; it is a lived reality.

    That is also the case in the state of Osun, where the scope and the frenetic pace of development cannot but astonish those who knew what the place was like under PDP Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola and what it is now under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who was elected on the platform of the ACN.

    Now the PDP wants to put an end to all that.  It has not phrased its quest as starkly as I have done here, but it cannot complain that I have misjudged its intent.

    Only such an intent, plus overweening contempt for the Ekiti people, can explain why it drew Fayose out of his den and with scant regard for due process pressed him into service as its candidate in the gubernatorial election scheduled for June.  That the process which produced the ticket was supervised by a hugely discredited former PDP governor the courts said the police must never arrest merely underscores the PDP’s desperation.

    But that desperation is rooted in a morbid obsession, a consuming craving that knows no bounds and no restraints for what one cannot have.

    It is a dangerous affliction.  In the end, it drives its victim to destroy the object of his or her desire that refuses to be possessed.  That is the psychology of morbid obsession.

    Those who have been warning that the PDP will resort to blatant rigging to conscript Ekiti State into its fold, unmindful of the chaos that is sure to follow, cannot therefore be dismissed as idle alarmists.

    Unless it is too far gone in its delusion, the PDP must know that it cannot win a free and fair election in Ekiti, much less with a candidate who has nothing to offer, and that if it turns Ekiti and Osun into “war fronts” for the forthcoming elections, it will have to do battle with their newly empowered residents.

  • INEC distributes permanent voter cards in Ekiti, Osun

    Over one million (1, 108,495) Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were distributed this week by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the people who registered in 2011 in Ekiti and Osun states.

    A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr Kayode Idowu, on Thursday in Abuja said the distributed cards were from 1,913,825 cards printed for the two states.

    It said the commission had also conducted Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) for those who had just turned 18 years in the two states

    According to the statement, the distribution is in preparation for the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun scheduled to hold in June 21 and Aug. 9 respectively.

    It said “the cards were distributed at the polling unit level, namely at the existing 2,195 polling units in Ekiti and the 3, 010 polling units in Osun.

    “The CVR was conducted at the Registration Area Centre (Ward) level of which Ekiti has 177 and Osun, 332,’’ it said.

    It added that in Ekiti, the Continuous Voter Registration was conducted in 29 existing polling units with less than 100 registered voters.

    “While in Osun, it was conducted in 59 existing polling units where there were no data of registrants from the 2011 exercise, and seven other polling units that had less than 100 registered voters.’’

  • What’s on the minds of Ekiti voters?

    What’s on the minds of Ekiti voters?

    As Fayemi, Bamidele, Fayose, others prepare for June 21 polls

    As the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State draws near, the full essence of politics seems to have dawned on an average resident of the state as the contestants have been stumping the communities and homesteads to bolster their winning chances writes SULAIMAN SALAWUDEEN

    With the lifting of the ban on political campaigns by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, residents across the 16 local governments are being made aware that politics has not just come but that they must participate. The partisan groups stump the communities, reeling out promises to bolster their chances at the poll.

    With slogans and sloganeering, veiled name callings and downright lampoons, politicians are again at their schemes to outdo one another to clinch the highest political seat in a state where politics and politicking have apparently been elevated to an art.

    From Ado-Ekiti, the capital, to communities in Ikere, Ise, Aramoko, Igede, Ikole, Omuo, the residents seem already gripped by the politics fever as spread mainly by the three major parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP).

    For the parties, the campaigns come in forms of singing and dancing round major streets before settling at designated spots where carnival – like processions drum support for the favoured candidates whose pictures would have been pasted on surrounding walls,  hung on poles, or held by a legion of votaries while the action lasts.

    Given the latest ratification of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, by the state chapter of the APC at an event attended by national officers of the party, it is clear, barring both conventional and unconventional accidents that the race will be run principally by the trio of Fayemi, PDP’s Ayo Fayose and LP’s Opeyemi Bamidele.

    The Accord (party), which Kole Ajayi leads as governorship candidate and the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP’s) Alhaji Musa Ayeni, have both also launched their campaigns after successful primaries held in Ado-Ekiti. But the influence and reach of their (the latter’s) campaigns, compared with those of the earlier three has indeed been much less.

    From the larger than life sizes of banners of the contestants mounted on massive frames high up the ground here and there in Ado-Ekiti as in other towns, to their often well designed and attention catching posters pasted on streets, houses and on wooden/iron kiosks, as well as branded vests and fez caps worn by faithful of the parties in open places, the period of hushed intents by willing contestants and muted discussions among supporters seems definitely over.

    The Okeyinmi newspapers distribution point in the capital has since assumed its elements as the unofficial political capital of the state, given the usual gatherings in the mornings of people who feast over the dailies as they emerge in their crisp freshness for the latest development across the world.

    “Please let me have that paper when you are through” is a familiar request among the free beneficiaries, they call them readers, of products of nocturnal investments of some egg-heads in far flung capitals. Soon, the inquisition pales into discussions and debates regarding the winning chances of rival candidates or what someone else have said or would/would not say regarding their chances of winning an election which is commonly believed in some quartres as a make or break for many a political career.

    But the perfervid vehemence of some of the free readers in urging or forcing acceptance of their arguments can often win admiration if not condemnation. An interesting argument witnessed by this reporter once came up among some of the readers: “Were you at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium yesterday for the declaration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi? It was great. I love the man personally. He is an orator. I believe he will win this election, whatever the opposition may say or do because I believe he has indeed tried.  Is it true he is giving N5,000 to 25,000 elderly people?”

    “You said you believe he will win, you are entitled to freedom of opinion”, the other had replied, adding “While I cannot ascertain how many people he is giving the N5,000 to, I think those saying he would not win also have their point. They contend there is too much scarcity of money during his time unlike the time of a former governor whose tenure many people enjoyed because there was always money and merriment. Although, what they call infrastructural development was scanty at the time, but theirs was always money and people enjoyed”.

    “Fayose sees this election as the last chance for him to assert his relevance in Ekiti politics and he is ready to give it everything,” yet another reader noted.

    “But I don’t believe he can win – given the calculations I have made,” a reply came promptly.

    “What nonsense calculations are you making? Were you not in this state the day he (Fayose) entered through Akure?”

    “We don’t have to be emotional about this discussion. I was there and saw the many people who came out. But, given my calculations, it will be difficult for Fayose to defeat Fayemi.”

    “Say your calculations and don’t waste our time”. “Do you believe there are at least 70,000 definite and certain votes for Fayemi from some sections of the populace, whether he campaigns or he does not?”

    “From what sections will those free votes come?”. “From the 25,000 elderly individuals receiving N5,000 social security monthly, the 20,000 able-bodied adults receiving N10,000 monthly, the Youths in Commercial Agricultural Development (YCAD) beneficiaries and those benefitting from the beneficiaries now.”

    “I cannot see how these add up to 70,000 free votes”.

    “OK. Please also consider the 25,000 women earning N5,000 monthly under the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme. These ones will soon be settled in various businesses with a sum of N100,000. Again, add another 10,000 who have so far been engaged across other vocations through the Ekiti Enterprise Development Agency initiatives.

    “All you are telling are lies”. “Lies? May God forbid me from telling a lie on my own people and on my own conscience. Are you not in this state at all? So, you actually don’t know all these goings on or what?”

    “I know but I don’t…”

    “You don’t seem to know and that these beneficiaries would mount their own separate campaigns to ensure their benefactor retains office. If I want to even do a more scientific analysis, I would put the figure at a hundred thousand and I still would have been right”.

    “I see now. But Fayose himself has not been watching. He has started campaigns and his campaigns have shown he is still relevant.

    “Definitly, but all of them, including Opeyemi Bamidele and even Kole Ajayi have begun their campaigns. They are on the field already. Fayose has been to Ekiti North, Aramoko in Ekiti West and some parts of Ekiti South west. But Fayemi himself has done more regarding campaigns. He has been to all the local governments and he is going round again.

    “Despite all you claim Fayemi has done, people still complain about scarcity in town. Many people still lack access to basic living”.

    Fayemi’s faceless supporter drew the argument further: “What is the essence of governance, my brother? “Is a political leader expected  by the constitution to give money out freely or execute projects which would aid better living for people and facilitate for them profit yielding engagements?”

    “How right you are,” the opponent quipped, “But how many of such do we have in the state now that you can point to?”

    “Good question! Today, Fayemi has completed all the roads within Ado-Ekiti township and those linking the town and other towns in the state. Our commercial vehicle and motorcycle operators are the immediate beneficiaries of this. Do you know how it feels having to travel on smooth, tarred roads all the time wherever you are going? To say the fact, I feel the problem regarding poverty and want among the people is caused by factors for which I don’t think Governor Fayemi is/ can be held responsible, including the ever absent electricity, inflation and other factors. While the roads in the state are good and motor-able, can you say the same regarding other roads in the country and on which people travel every day? The blame cannot therefore, most sincerely, be heaped on one state governor as it is a national problem. What Fayemi has done so far are just interventionist programmes, most of which other states are now copying”.

    In the opinion of another speaker, Fayemi has done far more than could be considered enough to earn him just a second term or possibly even a third or fourth term, considering his achievements. He said: “I want to look at things this way and I am saying this not because I know Fayemi or his wife or because I want contract from them.  I am an Okada man and I am doing well, feeding my family and attending to my degree course at the state university on weekends. I have been doing Okada (commercial motorcycle business) since January 1999. Then, I would repair my machine at least once in a week. For the past two and a half years now after the completion of the roads by governor Fayemi, that has stopped. I have not even been to the mechanic for whole six months now. I have bought two additional Okada and they give me at least N1,000 every day.  That is not all, my mother stays in Igbemo and has been collecting N5000 every month from this same Fayemi in the last three years. Now, if I have money, I send it to her and if I don’t have, I know she has money. For me, the governor has done very well. Three months ago, my wife gave birth to our first child at the state hospital. I don’t think I spent anything more than the personal things we bought for my child. Every other thing was free. To me, Fayemi has tried and God will continue to bless him”.

    According to yet another speaker, the issues should centre round not whether Fayemi has done enough to qualify for a second term but how to sustain his legacies in the state, whether or not he wins the June 21 election.

    He spoke: “Do you people realise that many governors have been here before Fayemi and none of them thought of social security benefits for the elderly, renovation of entire 183 secondary schools and nearly 20 General Hospitals across the state, distribution of well over 40,000 laptop computers free for secondary school students and to their teachers at a subsidised rate. We are not talking of the initiates in agriculture and many others. For me, I care not about who will win but who will ensure that free health continues for the elderly individuals and for all infants still below age five, for pregnant women and for the indigent and physically challenged lot. I believe our concern should be about the governor whose wife will be ready to embark on quite bewildering better life programmes for our women under any guise as we do have it today with Erelu Bisi Fayemi”, he ended.

    Arguments and counter-arguments among the readers could go on hours at the end of which the contestants would simply retire, often to resume the next morning. But such scenes are not limited to open spaces in Okeyinmi. They are now quite familiar at newsstands from Old Garrage to Ijigbo in Ajilosun back to Adebayo areas of the capital, with individuals willingly and freely offering opinions, straight or warped, informed or jaundiced,  often about the winning chances of this or that contestant.

    The cars and buses on inter and intra-township transportation businesses have equally become avenues to catch the gist regarding political developments and how the candidates are fairing with the electorate. Once a journey begins, one thing would always lead to another and an argument would ensue about the candidates’ chances of winning.

    “Is it true that Fayemi and Fayose supporters fought yesterday at Adebayo area? Oh, this politicians. Why will anyone fight because of election? You say you want to help the people, must you fight over opportunities to assist the people. I cannot understand”, someone said on a bus to Adebayo from Old Garage.

    Even, the campaign offices of the three major contestants including APC’s Fayemi, PDP’s Fayose and LP’s Bamidele, in their enchanting colours, now play major part in the whole process of politics. You cannot pass by their offices or attend their campaign outings and not be amused some way with their slogans. At campaigns, the mention by any speaker of ‘APC’, attracts ‘Change in Abuja, Continuity in Ekiti, while that of Fayemi, is ‘Ko duro soke’, meaning ‘He (Fayemi) should remain at the top). For the PDP, the catch phrase is ‘PDP, Power’. For LP, it is ‘Forward ever, backward never’, while a mention of MOB at gatherings of LP attracts instant ‘The ark of God or the promise keeper’.

    The location of the campaign offices in a way seemed decided to avoid contacts and perhaps confrontation. While the campaign office of Fayemi is located in Ajilosun area on Ikere road, Fayose’s is on Adebayo road while Bamidele’s is at Basiri area.  These are locations separated by a minimum of five kilometres. How they came to be so separate must have been a consequence of willful strategy, given the volatility of situations in which activities might coincidentally have to go on all about the same time across the offices the same day.

    Although the campaign office of Dr. Fayemi looks the most attractive in terms of architecture and other physical fixtures, those of Fayose and Opeyemi are equally radiant and enchanting with their larger than life picture banners mounted at various spots around their offices.

     

    How far about the campaigns across parties

    The All progressives Congress (APC), seems to be in the lead in respect of promptness and reach of campaigns. After the launch of the campaigns at a Mega Rally at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado-Ekiti, the capital, many others have followed which had attracted what has been routinely dubbed ‘a mammoth crowd’.

    Fayemi, the APC flag bearer, has concluded the first phase of the campaigns and on the second train across the state, promising to ensure increased comfort for the people through massive industrialisation and employment generation. The governor himself had said at the mega rally “no one can deny the achievements I have made in the three and a half years of this administration”, adding that “This election is not about me but about consolidating the achievements of my administration and ensuring that the state does not go back to the dark days of one week, one trouble, one violence and looting of public funds.”

    The APC governorship candidate had urged the electorate not to be deceived by the ‘wrong’ propaganda of the opposition politicians that he would ban commercial motorcycle riders, sack teachers and sell the much valued Ise Forests  if re-elected.

    Said he: “They know we are the state of teachers. They are trying to poison the minds of teachers. Fayemi will not sack teachers. Fayemi will keep employing more and more teachers. Fayemi will remunerate teachers. We are the only state that pays 20 percent rural teachers allowance in Nigeria.

    “We are also the only state that pays 20 percent core subjects allowance in Nigeria. If you are a core subject teacher including English, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, you are also receiving 20 per cent of your monthly basic salary on top of your normal salary. There is nothing that is independently verifiable that they can use against us with teachers and the teachers know better.”

    Fayemi spoke further: “There are people who will come and promise heaven and earth. There are people who will tell you what they want to do. The advantage that I have as your son, as your brother, as your leader, is that I can tell you what I have done on education. I can tell you how I have made the lives of our elderly people better in Ekiti and how I have banished poverty in the lives of our elderly.

    “I can tell you what I have done in the area of infrastructure. I can tell you what I have done in the health sector. I can tell you what our women have benefitted by having a gender-sensitive leader. I can tell you what is happening in tourism in Ikogosi. I can tell you what we have done in reviving industries. I can tell you how we have made lives better by creating jobs and empowering our people.

     

    Labour Party and the campaigns

    The campaigns of the candidate of the LP,  which were flagged off same day as the APC’s candidate’s at an equally well-attended event in Ido-Ekiti by the party’s candidate, Hon. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB),  have been based on  industrialisation and agriculture which he recognised as “the mainstay of our economy”.

    Speaking in Oye and Ikole-Ekiti, Bamidele had promised to encourage the people into mechanised farming, saying “This is the only way for us to have enough for local consumption and export.

    At Iyemero-Ekiti in lkole Local Government Area of the State during Bamidele said, he would initiate programmes that would bring about agricultural revolution in the state which would attract the youth to live in the remote areas.

    The LP candidate had also lamented what he described as “the neglect of rural communities by the successive administrations in the state,” promising to make the welfare of rural dwellers his priority if given the mandate to serve the people in the June 21 governorship  election.

    Bamidele pledged that his administration would revamp the State Farm Settlements and build more in remote areas  across the three senatorial districts of the state to generate employments for the youth and launch the state to a recognisable height  in food security.

    Other towns which the LP candidate had visited included Isaba, Itapaji, Odo-Oro and other Ebira communities, where he promised to use the land expanse available in the area and the state for mechanised farming and economic transformation.

     

    The Peoples Democratic

    Party’s (PDP’s) campaigns

    Former governor Ayodele Fayose, candidate of the PDP, had had challenges regarding the legitimacy of the primaries which produced him as the flag-bearer of the party, but the situation has since won some calmness as other aggrieved aspirants have accepted to work with him.

    While his campaigns started by unannounced visits to homes of identified supporters, Fayose has lately also taken to open air campaigns, promising mass employment especially for the youth, noting ”the problem about youth unemployment has been alarming. We have to do something fast and real.”

    Fayose had said: “I urge our people to vote for me in the coming election. PDP, as we all know,  is the party of the masses, the artisans and the students. We will not overlook anyone. Everybody is relevant to us and we will take care of all.

    “I won’t be distracted by whatever they (APC members) say about me. I am committed to this course. It is like running a race, so I won’t look sideways, but where I am going”.

    Commending the 13 aggrieved aspirants (in the party) for what he called “rare show of understanding and sportsmanship”, pledging to offer leadership to all members of the party, irrespective of initial affiliation of members, or their political beliefs.

     

    Accord and campaigns

    According to the flag bearer of Accord Party, Barrister Kole Ajayi, priority would be on agriculture around which industries would be established across communities based on the principle of comparative advantage.

    Ajayi condemned what he described as plans by the APC-led administration to keep education away from the common people, saying “Ekiti must pioneer genuine education for all policy if it must regain its status as the knowledge zone of the country.

    Said he: “My plan will be to industrialise Ekiti State through the establishment of agro-allied industry in each local government. Industries will be established across the zones and districts of the state based on the prevailing agricultural products in such areas. Anywhere fruits are prevalent, we establish a juice making industry and where  you have tomatoes and other vegetables, there will be an industry to absorb such.

    The SDP has so far not mounted any form of campaign anywhere in Ekiti.

  • Fayemi to VP Sambo: Ekiti not a war front

    Fayemi to VP Sambo: Ekiti not a war front

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has taken exception to Vice-President Namadi Sambo’s description of the state as a war front, saying that the remark is unbecoming of the number two citizen.

    He said the pronouncement, which was reminiscent of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s “do-or-die” slogan, may directly or indirectly provoke insecurity, ahead of the June 21 governorship poll.

    Describing the statement as worrisome and unfortunate, the governor said the state needed a cogent assurance by the Independent Natio0nal Electoral Commission (INEC) that it would conduct a credible poll.

    Fayemi spoke with reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, at the weekend on the preparations for the election and implications of the Vice-President’s statement.

    He said: “The Vice-President is someone I relate with very well. He and I are on the board of the Nigeria Integrated Power Project (NIPP). He chairs the NIPP and I represent the Southwest in the power project in the country. Through that, we meet fairly regularly.

    “ The Vice-President has every right to push for his party in any election. That is his legitimate right. But, what the media reported him to have purportedly said was quite unfortunate because we are not at war in Ekiti. We have been here three and a half years and Ekiti is one of the most peaceful states in this country today. So, for somebody who occupies one of the highest offices in the land as our Vice President, to reduce the importance of his office and promote insecurity, either directly or by subterfuge, and in this case it is pretty much directly and it wasn’t used figuratively, he used it in a matter of fact that he was going to a war front.

    “It is very reminiscent of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s do-or-die statement, which is really unbecoming of the person who occupies the number two office in the land. I still would like to take the Vice-President on himself. I hope he would deny saying that and it would be some form of reassurance. I think it is the underlying text that should worry us.”

    Fayemi said the statement should be taken seriously by lovers of democracy and sanctity of the ballot box, in view of the unfolding alleged unruly behaviour of prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in the Southwest.

    He added: “ All of us also saw what happened at Ilaje-Ese Odo and the role played by a minister of government, who does not even come from the state and has no responsibility in the state. The Resident Electoral Commissioner came out openly and said ‘let them challenge what I’m telling you in your report. This was what this person did.’

    “The INEC ought to be sending a very strong signal to Mr. President himself that we would not take kindly to this kind of interference by the minister of state in an election that we want as a precursor for the 2015 presidential election”.

    The governor alleged that certain unscrupulous elements are sewing fake uniforms for fake soldiers and policemen, ahead of the election.

    Fayemi said: “Ihe Ekiti election is even far more important than the 2015 election because, if confidence is lost in INEC’s preparation and eventual implementation of the Ekiti election, that will rub off terribly on the 2015 election. I mean the INEC is already on the tenterhook. We know what happened in Anambra.

    “I think INEC together with Inter Agency Committee and Security that would be involved in the election to give people a lot of reassurance,, following the Vice President’s statement. I think it is very unfortunate. I think it is unbecoming of his office.

    “I think the Vice-President really ought to withdraw the statement and reassure Nigerians that the agenda for Ekiti election is not going to be determined in Aso Rock but by Ekiti people because it is a referendum on the performance of the current government in Ekiti. It is not a national election. It should not be reduced to a national election. So, that would be my reaction to the unfortunate remark of the Vice President”.

    Fayemi urged political leaders to learn from the lessons of history to avoid a repeat of the past tragedy that shook the nation to its foundation. He warned against bungling Ekiti poll as the INEC did in Anambra State, stressing out that the Ekiti will definitely react differently.

    He added: “This is Ekiti and people who are familiar with the history here would know that this is not a very good place to rig election. You can afford to manipulate elections in Anambra because Anambra has a lot of rich people who are even richer than the governor.

    “My friend, Peter Obi, used to say to me when he was still the governor that there were so many people with mobile police and security that they throw him off the street, even when he was still governor. So, election is not what Anambra people see as a big deal; yes, they are interested but it is not for them any big deal. In Ekiti, you will discover that everybody is interested in what happens because we have 2.5million governors in this state.

    “Every single indigene believes he has what it takes; that he understands government and that he knows how to govern. So, you can’t say such a person does not have an opinion. And when you try to manipulate elections in a place like Ekiti, the result has not been palatable. Whether you refer to 1964/65; Ekiti was even more of a resistance zone than Ikenne and, of course, when you talk of 1983, we all can remember what happened here. Even though our son was the person that perpetrated the crisis, they still did not spare him and his supporters.”

  • Ekiti, Osun polls: INEC to stop underage voters

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has trained its personnel on how to identify minors and prevent them from voting in the Ekiti and Osun polls.

    INEC’s National Commissioner in the Southwest, Prof. Lai Olurode, disclosed this yesterday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Olurode said even if minors were in possession of voter cards, they would not be allowed to vote.

    He was reacting to claims by the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of civil society organisations, that minors were registered in the Continued Voter Registration (CVR).

    Olurode said: “We have factored a way into our training, so that minors will be denied access to vote even if they are in possession of voter cards. We have increased the tempo of voter education clubs in schools through electronic and print media campaigns.”

    According to him, INEC is cleaning up the register to weed out underage registrants.

    Olurode said the CVR, which was held from March 12 to 19 in Osun and Ekiti states, enabled the commission to accommodate all complaints before the governorship elections.

    He said law enforcement agents are being sensitised to effectively perform their duties and ensure hitch-free polls.

    The commissioner said the prevention of electoral offences was the duty of all stakeholders and not INEC alone.

    He said: “Elections are for the good of all and are about partnership and vigilance by everyone.”

  • Ekiti deputy speaker rallies support for governor

    Ekiti deputy speaker rallies support for governor

    Ekiti State House of Assembly Deputy Speaker Taiwo Orisalade has urged indigenes at home and abroad to work for the re-election of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    He said this would “prove that they are honourable people” who appreciate Fayemi’s accomplishments in the last three-and-a-half years.

    In a statement yesterday by his media aide, Mr. Taiwo Oluwaleye, Orisalade said Ekiti people have always stood for the truth in the face of intimidation, pressure and inducement, adding: “The occasion to show their standing has come again.”

    Orisalade said: “The Ekiti electorate should not allow anything to truncate the wheel of progress, which is moving fast in the state. Rather, they should rally round Fayemi and ensure that he continues in office until 2018 to consolidate on the achievements so far made.

    “I urge our people to rise above pettiness and let the June 21 election remain a test case in truth, justice, equity, fairness and the continuation of progress in Ekiti.

    “Darkness is never known to have a lasting lifetime. When confronted with the vehemence and ruthlessness of truth and equity, it wavered and eventually gave way in 2010 at the Appeal Court in Ilorin. An opportunity has come not to empower darkness over light in Ekiti. Our people should vote for Fayemi on June 21 for the sustenance of the light that has come to Ekiti.”