The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has said it will not
participate in this Saturday’s local government election across the state.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said on
Thursday that his party was boycotting the election because it had been
compromised from the beginning.
“The compromised State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) is
composed of members who are card-carrying members of the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) with a mandate to endorse and implement the decisions and
directives of Governor Ayodele Fayose and his party,” alleged Mr. Olatunbosun.
“No democratic institution or political party worth its salt will
waste its resources and time to participate in a compromised election and under
a lawless administration as exemplified by Fayose.
“Fayose in the last three years has demonstrated an extreme
recklessness and executive rascality in government, almost usurping the
responsibilities of other arms of government with impunity who is accustomed to
presenting himself as the Speaker of the House of Assembly and who also invaded
the court where he attacked a judge in the temple of justice.
“Fayose has constituted himself as an enemy of democracy, rule of
law and a electoral process and therefore an institution, such as SIEC under
him, is an aberration having been instituted contrary to the provisions of the
law of the country, and, unfortunately, Ekiti courts are helpless in calling
him to order because of fear of violent attacks.
“Again, the process of the emergence of the so-called candidates
of PDP under the supervision of almighty Fayose inside Ekiti State Government
House was patently illegal and unconstitutional, yet SIEC accepted and approved
of such undemocratic and illegal conduct, which points to the direction the
charade is headed.
“We won’t join this charade because if they could do that to
members of their party, then it is instructive for us as an opposition party to
know we cannot have a free, fair and credible election, particularly under a
caged, compromised and biased umpire.
“Fayose’s administration as a product of militarised and rigged
election can not give what he does not have and so our party will not
participate in any stage-managed and undemocratic exercise intended to deceive
the general public.
“Above all, to the best of our knowledge, SIEC is not having any
updated voters list and the contract for the printing of ballot materials was
awarded to Fayose’s son’s company and delivered to the Government House earlier
this week.
“If Fayose could manage to compromise an election conducted by
INEC by obtaining the soft copies of INEC’s sensitive materials he printed to
win his election, we don’t know the chance we stand to win a single seat in an
election to be conducted with electoral materials printed by his son.”
Mr. Olatunbosun urged APC members to go about their legitimate
businesses or stay at home on Saturday while Fayose conducts his “illegal and
compromised election”.
Responding to the allegations, the PDP said the withdrawal by the
APC did not come as surprise as the opposition lacked the grassroots support to
win the election.
The Publicity Secretary of the party, Jackson Adebayo, said since
the local government election which comes up on Saturday is grassroots based,
the APC stood no chance and had to withdraw.
“They have been going around with the allegation that members of
SIEC are card carrying members of the PDP and we have challenged them to come
out with any evidence to support the allegations,” Mr. Adebayo said.
“They have not been able to show any evidence to prove their case.
They withdrawal only shows that they are jittery.”
The boycott is a change in the party’s earlier resolution to
participate in the election.
Recall that APC also boycotted the last local government election
for the same reasons.
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