Mrs Fayemi: Ekiti poll ‘manipulated from source’

Wife of Ekiti State governor, Bisi Fayemi, believes that last month’s governorship election was manipulated from “source”.

Delivering a keynote address at the 50th anniversary public lecture and award ceremony of the state chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), she assured the public that the full story of the manipulation of the election against the governor would soon be revealed.

Speaking on the theme Women Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow — the Ekiti Experience, she said the last had not been heard of the election.

“I would like to state that we have not heard the last about the election. Two weeks after the immediate confusion and hysteria of the June 21 elections, a picture has begun to emerge,” she said.

“This will, hopefully, reframe the debates emanating from and about Ekiti and the choices they allegedly made on that day.

“In due course, the full and real story of how the Ekiti elections of June 21 were manipulated from source will be revealed. There are many implications of Ekiti people having voted the way they supposedly did.”

She argued against observations that Governor Fayemi was disconnected from the people, saying the notion was being perpetuated by those seeking to hastily rewrite the governor’s history.

“It will be very hard for any informed analyst writing about Ekiti to accuse Governor Fayemi of not working to improve the economy of Ekiti State,” she said.

“It, of course, serves the interest of some to hastily attempt to rewrite the history of Governor Fayemi as one who was disconnected from his people. The same people he built roads for, provided electricity and water for, provided healthcare for, developed education for, and introduced social security payment for?

“The same people he visited in their 132 communities every year, without fail, to listen to their priorities for the next budget? The same people whose children he employed in the thousands through the Youth in Commercial Agriculture Development, Peace Corps and other youth-focused initiatives?”

She said the only offence of the outgoing governor is his refusal to accept the supposed significance of “stomach infrastructure”, which she described as an unfortunate addition to the country’s political lexicon.

Fayemi lost the June 21 election to candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ayodele Fayose who polled 203,090 votes to his own 120,433, and also won in all the 16 local government areas of the state.

The governor conceded defeat few hours after the result was announced, saying he was standing “in deference to the will of EKiti people” and that having spoken with and congratulating his “brother”, Fayose, he would immediately set the tone for the handover of power to the governor-elect.