Ekiti Election, the Morning After

By Uche Amunike

The Ekiti State elections have come and gone and Mr Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerged winner with a total of 197,459 votes as against those of his opponent, Prof Olusola Eleka, of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), who polled 178, 121 votes.
It was an election that heated up the polity and kept Nigerians on their toes as people expected the worst to happen, especially if the APC decided to use their federal might to manipulate the electoral process.
After a very intense tussle, INEC declared Fayemi winner and ever since, different factions have been torn between accepting the result or contesting it.
Both parties have accused the other of bribing the voters. This, is a recurring ill in our society that underlines the hungry disposition of many people.
For instance, in Ekiti, workers are owed salary arrears. This means that the same people who impoverish the citizens through bad governance and non-payment of salary still benefitted from the poverty as it helped them to buy their votes.
Nevertheless, the PDP has vowed to contest the result announced by INEC but their decision not to take the law into their hands is commendable. This is important because people feared the worst in the likelihood of an APC win.
So, the calm manner in which they have expressed their misgivings without causing any uproar or confusion as is found in such situations is laudable. This is more so as the west was known for their volatile nature, a development which fetched them the appellation of ‘Wild, Wild West’.
It is a good development that the election in Ekiti ended peacefully and this will surely encourage Nigerians to participate in next year’s elections with confidence.
It is therefore imperative that supporters of both parties and Ekiti indigenes at large should remain calm as Nigerians await the judgement of the courts which are expected douse once and for all, the controversy surrounding the true winner of the election.