BREAKING: Ekiti 2018; Eleka Heads To Court

Professor kolapo Olusola Eleka, the Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the July 14 gubernatorial election in Ekiti state has challenged the election result.

Eleka, who doubles as the deputy governor of the state submitted his petition at the Ekiti state high court in Ado Ekiti About 15 minutes ago.

While filing the petition, Eleka said he polled the highest number of lawful votes in the election.

The results as declared by INEC showed that governor-elect, Kayode Fayemi, scored 197,459 to defeat Mr Olusola, who polled a total of 178,121 votes.

Mr Fayemi had since received his certificate of return and would be sworn as governor on October 16, 2018 .

Mr Olusola, in company of his running mate, Kazeem Ogunsakin, submitted the petition at the Election Petition Tribunal sited within the premises of the Ekiti State High Court at about 5.15pm.

He said the governorship reign of Mr Fayemi would not last given the quality of evidence supporting his claims.

According to Mr Eleka, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yusuf Ali, would head his legal team, among a retinue of counsel who would be representing him at the tribunal.

In the over 700- page petition addressed to the tribunal’s secretary, Mr Olusola urged the tribunal to declare him the winner of the election.

“I am challenging the election results not out of desperation to be governor, but for reasons of future and posterity, and largely on behalf of the people of Ekiti, who were taken aback by the outcome of the election,” he told journalists in Ado Ekiti, after filing the petition.

“Without doubt, the will of the people was subverted by those who have chosen to take Nigeria back to the dark days of ballot stuffing, ballot boxes snatching and outright falsification of election results and I believe they deserve to get justice.

“As law abiding citizens of our country, the only path of honour to take in a situation like this is the process that we have initiated today, to seek redress against the use of security forces and other instruments of the federal government to suppress the will of our people.

“Sadly, the desperation of the APC to take over all states in the country, especially those under governors like Dr. Ayodele Fayose perceived as uncompromising has destroyed all the gains made by the PDP government regarding free, fair and credible elections.

“The mood of Ekiti people when the beneficiary of the electoral robbery was declared winner and up till today is a pointer to the resolve of the people not to accept the subversion of their will and we have answered their calls to use the judiciary to get back their mandate.

“In doing this, we have presented overwhelming discrepancies in the results declared by INEC to the tribunal to adjudicate upon and I am confident that the popular mandate of the people of Ekiti will not go unrestored. I therefore want Ekiti people to keep hope alive, remain strong and resolute in their belief in God.”

A member of the legal team, Ola Olanipekun, shedding more light on the petition, said the petitioner had asked for an outright nullification of the election that produced Mr Fayemi and declare him the winner.

“By the time the hearing begins, we are going to prove cases of falsification of results, ballot snatching, ballot stuffing and use of powers to subvert the will of the people. By the time we do this, the whole world can judge who was the actual winner,” he said.

“We are confident that justice will be done in this case, we are sure that our client shall get justice.”