SAN FRANCISCO, February 11, (THEWILL) – Following allegations of irregularities that have dogged the June 21 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has requested the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, to review the election and prosecute all those involved in the alleged “criminal” manipulation of the electoral process.
It made this call in a petition entitled: ‘Request for the prosecution of persons involved in conspiring and perpetrating acts of electoral fraud and malfeasance in the governorship election of June 21, 2014 in a manner other than that envisaged by the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended’.
APC, in the petition signed by its state chairman, Olajide Awe contended that the return of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the election, Ayodele Fayose, who was given a clean bill of health by the Supreme Court, was fraudulent and needed to be revisited to serve the course of justice and fairness.
Awe explained that the party’s petition to the Minister of Justice, Malami, stems from the recent confessions on Channels Television by the former state Secretary of PDP in Ekiti State, Dr Temitope Aluko, which was published and broadcast on other electric and print media.
It would be recalled that Aluko had two weeks ago claimed that Fayose gave top INEC officials in Ekiti State N1bn to compromise its staff without the knowledge of then INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega. He went as far as naming all the personalities and institutions involved in the election scam that had drawn commentaries in the local and international media calling for justice in Ekiti State.
The party also referred to the earlier two petitions dated February 13, 2015, November 23, 2015 on the same subject matter, saying, “we are compelled to write this reminder to draw your attention to the urgent need to address the matter to ensure justice in what has turned a blight on the nation’s practice of democracy through treasonable actions that denied the votes of Ekiti people”.
According to Awe, the infractions include: unusual militarization before, during and after the election that created fears and heightened the level of insecurity to the electorate throughout the state, among others.
“We unequivocally believe that this should elicit extra-ordinary remedy so that the cause of justice, fair-play and preeminence of Nigerian Constitution are not permanently perverted and to act as deterrent to a repeat of such,” Awe said.
Meanwhile, Fayose has described the expedition as an exercise in futility, noting the Minister of Justice has no such powers to review the election. He asserted that for the Ekiti State APC chairman to be demanding that shows him as “an illiterate, and a comedian playing to the gallery with propaganda.”
The Governor maintained that “The issue concerning June 21, 2014 governorship election is a concluded matter which can never be revisited. The issue raised by Awe is an election matter conducted under stipulated time under the law because it is time bond.
“All parties have exhausted their rights at the tribunal, Appeal Court and Supreme Court under the law.
“When the APC was in government, Segun Oni asked the Supreme Court to review a matter it has already decided because he claimed to have a new evidence to upturn the legal victory of Kayode Fayemi, the Supreme Court threw it out. The court even lambasted Oni for wasting its time.”
