The Debacle In Ekiti

The debacle in Ekiti By Reuben Abati ON February 17, 2009, the Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin determined the April 2007 Gubernatorial election petition in Ekiti State. The court ruled in favour of Kayode Fayemi, candidate of the Action Congress and appellant in the matter, and ordered a re-run in 65 wards covering 10 local councils in the state. The results of the Gubernatorial election in the six remaining local councils in the state were upheld, and this gave Fayemi an advantage of 11, 000 plus votes over his PDP rival who had already spent 21 months in office as Governor of Ekiti State. Even before that ruling, there had been much tension in Ekiti State, with the House of Assembly having been turned into a war zone, and supporters of the two contending political parties constantly clashing, often violently with each other. On Saturday, April 25, the re-run elections were held, but it was akin to a state...Read the full article.

[i-go-better]

Another disappointing sitting-on-the-fence journalism. Is this what the country's acclaimed best can contribute for a Nation that cannot conduct elections in ONLY 10 LOCAL COUNCILS!

A President of a Nation that told Ekiti people to thank their stars for they would be privileged to have a 6-term governor even before elections are conducted;

An incunbent State Governor on tape boasting of providing fake Army uniforms;

INEC Chairman declaring a hale and hearty woman he did not border to provide adequate security for, SICK;

A Nation in near total collapse due to do-or-die political gameplay;

And this is all you can get from a calibre journalist like R. Abati. Shame, from a disappointed fan.

[solomak]

Reuben Abati has said his own.That was how Olatunji Dare chronicled the June 12 crisis in 1993.Honestly,the issue on ground is now beyond ekiti rerun.unless care is taken,jackboots will overrun aso rock between now and 2011 or those messing us up will voluntarily handover to them when they cant conduct successful elections.wont it be a shame when nijas begin to apply to Ghana for citizenship papers.they are fast turning this blessed nation to a botswana,otherwise known as PLANTAIN...dodo republic!God save us all.solomon makinde

[omo naija]

"Fountain of Knowledge" my foot, you can can be educated but be ignorant and unenlightened, that is my judgement of what happened in Ekiti State, and is a shame... How long shall we continue to be used by people of dubious characters, that wants power by any means possible, and for their own selfish ends...
IS A SHAME, WHILE OTHER COUNTRIES ARE MAKING GREAT PROGRESS, WE ARE STILL STUCK IN THE PAST, WITH OUR PRIMITIVE POLITICS, WE MUST CHANGE OUR WAY, IF WE MUST PROGRESS, POVERTY IS NO EXCUSE, AND BLAMING EVERYBODY BUT OURSELVES CANNOT HELP ANYBODY EITHER, WE ALL CONTRIBUTES TO THE ROTS THAT IS ENGULFING NIGERIA, IN ALL OUR LITTLE WAYS.

MAY GOD BLESS AND HAVE MERCY ON NIGERIA AND AFRICA, AMEN.

[omo naija]

Originally Posted by solomak09@yahoo.com

Reuben Abati has said his own.That was how Olatunji Dare chronicled the June 12 crisis in 1993.Honestly,the issue on ground is now beyond ekiti rerun.unless care is taken,jackboots will overrun aso rock between now and 2011 or those messing us up will voluntarily handover to them when they cant conduct successful elections.wont it be a shame when nijas begin to apply to Ghana for citizenship papers.they are fast turning this blessed nation to a botswana,otherwise known as PLANTAIN...dodo republic!God save us all.solomon makinde

What do you mean by Botswana? it will be an insult to compares Botswana to dodo republic, this country is one of the shining light of Africa...

[El-Kanemite]

I just hope that the present day politicians take a cue from history. They should remember "weti e" in 65, and the violence that followed NPN's attempt to rig elections in the old Ondo State 1983.

Those calling for military presence in Ekiti, should also remember that the Nigerian Army Corporal that is armed to the teeth will only take orders from his superior officers, and not from the politicians that invited them.

The same politicians should also remember that when people are pushed to the wall, they would react. Once the reaction starts, it would become difficult to control, not even with the military.

My greatest fear about the simmering tension in Ekiti is, an outbreak of violence in Ekiti is sure to spread throughout the SouthWest. This may infact precipitate the final break up of Nigeria, as it is today.

Anyone remember the CIA Country Report indicating that Nigeria will disintegrate in no distant future? Anyone remember the reason adduced for this? Political violence precipitated by brazen corruption by the political class, like the one currently been perpetrated in Ekiti State.

A word is enough for the wise!

[LAN]

@ I-Go-Better

Events in Ekiti is still unfolding, and you will agree with me it's too early to say that it's only PDP or AC that is rigging. AC is enjoying people's sympathy bcos of what we know PDP for. The truth is Nigerians are tired of PDP, they want them to go. But, we should restraint ourselves in concluding on Ekiti election, let's pray that God will take control and people's wish will be respected.

[Enyi]

The on-going saga in Ekiti should arouse mixed feelings in all lovers of democracy. On one hand, it is a national disgrace that we can not conduct credible election in only 10 local government areas. This is coming shortly after South Africa has just successfully conducted national elections. Oddly enough, Nigeria will be represented at the inauguration of Zuma's presidency! On the other hand, it may be sign that rigging with impunity as happened in 2007 will be resisited in future elections. I shall like to comment on a few points raised by Abati.
In the first place, she is too old for the assignment. 74? Why send a 74-year old to such a difficult political terrain as Ekiti state?
I am not sure what age has to do with the assignment. Mandela, Reagan, Mugabe were presidents at that age. John McCain was 72 when he ran a strong presidential campaign. The point is if Mrs Adebayo felt mentally and physically fit for the assignment, she should not be denied the opportunity just because of her age. What makes Ekiti a difficult state? Hope somebody will educate me on this.
In the meantime, the Ekiti PDP is protesting that Mrs Adebayo is no longer an impartial arbiter in the election. The AC insists that she is a heroine of the revolution
This is an interesting development. It may be recalled that while PDP at the onset hailed her appointment, the opposition greeted it with sceptism. Indeed there was a demand that she should be replaced because of her alleged close relationship with Obasanjo. Now the story is different. This shows that the only constant among our politicians is inconsistency. Mrs Adebayo has reaffirmed my belief that there are Nigerians who are prepared to stand up and be counted when the going gets tough. Right now, she is a beacon of light amid an encircling gloom. True democrats must therefore rally around her and ensure that the light is not extinguished. Perhaps she may redeem the battered image of INEC.

[olootu]

Originally Posted by Enyi

Mrs Adebayo has reaffirmed my belief that there are Nigerians who are prepared to stand up and be counted when the going gets tough. Right now, she is a beacon of light amid an encircling gloom. True democrats must therefore rally around her and ensure that the light is not extinguished. Perhaps she may redeem the battered image of INEC.

I just hope and pray that what my inner mind is telling me is untrue:

• What if all these 'pressures from certain people' are all a set-up
• What if Mrs Adebayo turned back and accuse AC of being the ones 'pressurising' her?
• What if Mrs Adebayo has now been 're-pressurised' to act against her christian beliefs?

. Anything to do (connected) with Obasanjo should be taken with utmost suspicion!

I May be wrong though.

[K_Station]

The people of Ekiti, especially the men (at least the women are standing up for something!) need to stand up and defend their votes. Considering the antecedents in this state, the people cannot be passive while the relatively few PDP & AC agents turn their state into a political war zone!

Madam REC is not a heroine in my judgement until she shows enough courage to finish what she started, and tell the Nigerian people (to whom she’s ultimately accountable!) who are the people pressurizing her, to the point that she was willing to cut and run! I don’t know what she’s saying about her “Christian conscience” when she apparently was willing to walk away and abandon her higher responsibility to God & the Nigerian people! My own Christian values teach me to stand up for the truth and show courage in the face of evil.

Now that she has returned to the job apparently after the government has rejected her resignation, she must understand that she’s the only one person that can make a difference in this political saga. How it all turns out depend on her ability to show courage. Her role should demonstrate to all of us that it is going to take courageous individuals, not angels, to turn things around in our country.

[saemoenl]

Hope so that at the end, peoples' choice will emerged.

[LAN]

See what Dora has to say!
http://odili.net/news/source/2009/apr/30/512.html
You’re denting our image – Akinyuli
Thursday, April 30, 2009 Daily Sun

The Minister of Information and Communications, Professor Dora Akunyuli, on Wednesday, said, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ekiti State, Mrs. Olusola Ayoka Adebayo’s hide and seek attitude is dragging the image of Nigeria in the mud.

In a statement issued from the Ministry, Akinyuli also said her going into hiding at a time when Nigeria is being re-positioned to improve her national image is an embarrassment to Nigerians both home and abroad.

She urged Mrs. Ayoka on the need to tell Nigerians the truth on what prompted her decision to resign, as only the REC according to the professor “is in custody of the whole truth on the Ekiti elections.”

Meanwhile, the Ekiti REC surfaced on Wednesday at the police headquarters in Abuja after an anticipated manhunt for her by the police.

It could be recalled that the Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, had declared her wanted in connection to controversies surrounding the re-run election in Ekiti State.
Akinyuli further stressed that “the Federal Government will remain neutral in the Ekiti election.”

She, however, called on the “political parties and all stakeholders in Ekiti election to give peace a chance because, the young state cannot develop in an atmosphere of crisis.”

[MrOneNaija]

THE PDP-INDUCED FIASCO IN EKITI

There should be no pussy-footing as to where much of the blame should be placed regarding what I keep saying is a contrived disaster in Ekiti. It has been evident to most Nigerians since the election re-run decision was handed down by the Appeal Court that, in their desperation, the local PDP chapter and their allies in Abuja have not been keen on having a level-playing field that would most certainly ensure the deserved electoral defeat of their candidate, Mr. Oni. And as the days passed leading to the re-run poll date of April 25, 2009, the antics of key PDP figures in Ekiti and elsewhere only served to convince the citizenry that Yar'Adua's party was counting on its stock-in-trade impunity to remain in power in Ekiti. To a large extent, the sometimes bellicose rhetoric emanating from the AC has been a reaction to the anti-people posture of the PDP and its tin gods. The position of the AC has been to defend the right of the people to choose their leaders or representatives. Surely, Nigerians in their majority will throw their lot with anyone canvassing the respect of the sovereign will of the populace.

It is a pity that Yar'Adua has not shown any sense of leadership in the Ekiti electoral fiasco. Unwisely, he joined the partisan fray and proceeded to exacerbate the already precarious situation in Ekiti with his abuse of national institutions - the INEC, the various security forces, etc - which his regime has deployed in an unconscionable display of presidential truancy and abdication.

Now, media reports have it that armed soldiers are once again in Ekiti on the orders of UMYA. If this is the 'coup de grâce' Mr. President and his PDP want to administer on the courageous people of Ekiti, they must be told in no uncertain terms that they will fail. The spineless Yar'Adua and his equally spineless éminence grise should know that they will not escape unscathed the whirlwind of the evil they are sowing in Ekiti and elsewhere in the land.

As for the good citizens of Ekiti, they must remain strong and refuse to succumb to the depraved fantasies of the scoundrels who are hell bent on maintaining their society in a state of subjugation and crisis.

[maikanodahiru]

The Ekiti debacle is a herbinger to what we should expect in 2011.

[Enyi]

@olootu
I just hope and pray that what my inner mind is telling me is untrue:
• What if all these 'pressures from certain people' are all a set-up
• What if Mrs Adebayo turned back and accuse AC of being the ones 'pressurising' her?
• What if Mrs Adebayo has now been 're-pressurised' to act against her christian beliefs
Your points are well taken. Events may prove you right because in our country anything is possible. However, I am giving her benefit of doubt until she proves me wrong. In the meanwhile, let's watch and pray.

[Mikky jaga]

The only solution to the Ekiti imbroglio is to cancel the results of the remaining 5 LGs and rerun the elections in those places. Announcing a winner based on those results that had remained unannounced for close to one week now will not be acceptable to any party that loses the election. Such result will also not pass the transparency test.

[Observer]

The bomb is ticking. Watch out for 2011.

[Ezioyi]

What I fail to understand is the fuss surrounding the resignation of the REC woman in Ekiti. Resignation is a willful abdication of an office which one sees him/herself unable to continue in anymore. Why was it rejected by the crooked Yar'dua? And why did the 2nd Crook 'Ehindero' declare the woman wanted? This country is finished, we r done! PDP enslaving everybody!
Talking about Mrs. Rebrand 'Dora'... I fail to see how the resignation of an INEC official becomes embarrassment to Nigerians home and abroad. She has lost all the credibility she stashed for herself (as NAFDAC boss) in her flemzy sloganeering escapade, now she wants to undermine another woman. Jealousyyyyyyyy!!! na we send u to start 'Operation Re-brand'? Now PDP don ruin ur repuation. abeg make we see road...

[Anioma777]

@Ezioyi

I think you meant to say Okiro declared Mrs Adebayo missing and not his similar imcompetent predesessor Ehindero.

2011 Elections now in my own perverse mind will be a another defining moment for Nigeria.

Rueben Abati I fail to see how age has any bearing on a Chief Returning Officer's capabality to handle the Ekiti elections. Even if you had Mike Tyson as the CRO there would still have been problems. The Ekito electorate must not let their votes be rigged. The rest of Nigeria and Nigerians abroad are anxious.

I dont think even if I was giving all the money in this world, will I even attempt to understand why MOST NIGERIANS ARE BLESSED WITH THE UNEVIABLE INTELLIGENCE TO COMPLICATE THINGS WHERE SIMPLICITY IS CALLED FOR.

[gwobezentashi]

Whatever happened to Tinubu's rig and roast promise? I smell no roasting flesh. Does he mean no one has rigged yet?

The truth is that our politicians are a disappointing mix of bluff and bravado. The thugs which are being mobilized by all sides are a sad representation of where power lies in today's Nigeria - among charlatans and spivs.

Throughout what could pass for a campaign, it was accusation vs counter accusation between the main contenders. It was insults and abuse galore. That's what they call politics around here.

When so called leaders are not prepared to stand up and be counted for what they claim, then what hope for the led? Fayose escaped through a back door. Are his principles not worth being arrested for or is it a case of , he who runs away .....? We also remember one fence jumping legislating ex jail bird nympho who hopes to run a state come 2011. That's our lot! So why are we suprised?

Con men and women sit over matters of state in the assembly and executive. Area boys and drug dealers running government.

Of course we know what to do but will we? Will we?

I feel sorry for the women who were demonstrating. They should have been demonstrating against all of the politicians becaus they are all as bad as each other. Lock them all up and throw away the key.

And Dora ...... Oh Dora!! Shut up! Instead of re-brand, try character reform. Shikena.

Mallama REC Adebayo, why did you come back? Exile would have written your name in gold rather than to be remembered eternally as one that may or may not have been shined by a notorious congo shiner! Anything you do now will be suspect.

And oh yes Mallam Anioma777, we were never in doubt that your mind was perverse. Thanks for the confirmation.

MallamOneNaija, na true AC does not and did not rig. They are just blue eyed boys reacting to provocation! I am sure that you know that not to be true.

The indecisiveness in the villa has led to the impasse. Bring the Monster Aremu back. All is forgiven!! At least you know what you will get. Proper do or die, not this non event drama.

Now, who shall we swear in? Will it make any difference in the people's lives? Not one bit.


Aluta!

Gwobezentashi