The candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Mrs Kemi Elebute-Halle, has vowed to challenge the result of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State at the tribunal.
Elebute-Halle is accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) of vote-buying and corruption.
PRESENT had reported that Biodun Oyebanji of the APC emerged as the governor-elect gathering 187,057 votes while his two closest challengers, Social Democratic Party’s Segun Oni and Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party scored 82,211 and 67,457 respectively.
However, Elebute-Halle polled 3,495 votes in the Saturday election.
In a statement signed on her behalf by the state chairman of the party in Ado-Ekiti, Femi Eponlolaye, alleged that the election was marred by the snatching of ballot boxes, vote-buying, and harassment of her party members.
“The victory of Mr Biodun Oyebanji in the just concluded governorship election ordinarily would have been accepted by me, if the election had not been fraught by electoral malpractices.
“In spite of various sensitisation programmes and media publicity against vote-buying, the APC, PDP and SDP actually promoted and encouraged corruption, both at the grassroots and the state levels.
“Though, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pronounced Oyebanji as the winner of this election, I, Kemi Elebute-Halle, hereby reject the results of this election.
“It was not credible, neither was it free nor fair. His APC thugs destabilised my strongholds across the state, attacked our members, snatched and destroyed our ballot boxes.
“All those votes, including those obtained by PDP, will be cancelled at the tribunal.
“I want to use this medium to urge my followers not to be discouraged about the outcome of the election.
“We shall continue to promote our great party, the ADP,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Ekiti governorship election, Olabisi Kolawole congratulated the winner and prayed for God’s guidance as he leads the people of the state.
He said, “Following the announcement of your victory in the June 18 Ekiti Governorship Election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
I hereby write to congratulate you accordingly,” the letter reads.
“I believe that power belongs to God and He bestows upon whoever he chooses.
“ I also believe in popular choice that the unfettered expression of the peoples mandate as one of the crucial hallmarks of democratic principle and practice.”
