Ekiti Elections: Financial Inducements Affected The Credibility Of Votes – Falana

Falana Urges Fayemi To Use His Office To End Thuggery, Impunity, Others

Human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana, (SAN), has called on the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi,, on assumption of office, to end inducement, thuggery and impunity, which he noted as factors which affected credibility of the  governorship elections.

The Lagos based lawyer who was speaking to newsmen in an interview on Sunday also commended the National Broadcasting Corporation for shutting down the Ekiti State Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday, saying that it saved the state from”violence of unimaginable proportion”

State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, had taken to the station to announce results in favour of the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the state deputy governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, as the winner of the election, which the NBC said was against the broadcasting code.

In Falana’s words “The NBC deserves commendation for closing down the Ekiti State television and radio stations where false results were announced by Governor Ayo Fayose. But for the closure, the state would have been engulfed in the violence of unimaginable proportion.

“No doubt, the financial inducement has substantially eroded the credibility of the election. The governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, owes the Ekiti people a duty to end inducement, thuggery and impunity with which Ekiti State has been associated in recent times.

“In particular, the electorate should be enlightened to distance themselves from electoral fraud and allied offences. The open purchase of votes displayed during the governorship elections in Edo, Anambra and Ondo states was repeated in Ekiti State on Saturday.

Falana also called on INEC  to  “put an end to the inducement of voters during the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.”