Supreme Court Reaffirms Fayose As Ekiti Governor

The Supreme Court today, April 14 has affirmed the election
of Ayo Fayose as the governor of Ekiti State, dismissing a
suit that sought to nullify the 2014 polls.
Mr. Fayose’s election was challenged by the All
Progressives Congress, APC, whose candidate in the
election, Kayode Fayemi, lost to Mr. Fayose.
The governor is currently facing an attempt by state
lawmakers to impeach him.
Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, Mr. Fayose, in a state-
wide broadcast on Monday asked the people of the state to
maintain the peace and pursue their businesses and lawful
duties normally.
He credited the success of his Peoples Democratic Party in
Saturday’s House of Assembly election to Ekiti residents and
thanked them accordingly.
Mr. Fayose said the victory confirmed that he had the
genuine support of the people.
The governor said he would be vindicated at the end of the
day and “triumph over whatever plot being hatched to
truncate,” his tenure.
The APC had petitioned the Ekiti Governorship Election
Tribunal challenging the victory of Mr. Fayose in the
governorship election.
The Tribunal, on December 19, 2014, upheld Mr. Fayose’s
victory and dismissed the APC’s petition for “lack of merit”.
Dissatisfied with the verdict, the APC went to the Court of
Appeal, on the grounds that Mr. Fayose was not eligible to
contest the governorship election since he had been
impeached on October 16, 2006 during his first tenure as
governor.
The APC also alleged that the governor forged his academic
credentials and breached the Code of Conduct rules.
On February 16, a five-member Appeal Court panel, led by
Justice Abdul Aboki, upheld the judgment of the Election
Tribunal and affirmed Mr. Fayose as winner of the June 21,
2014 poll.
The Appeal Court, however, upheld APC’s complaints that
the military was used to harass and intimidate its supporters
and leaders during the polls.
The APC, not satisfied with the judgment, went to the
Supreme Court.
The court on Tuesday upheld Mr. Fayose’s election, the
News Agency of Nigeria reported.
However, details of the ruling are yet unclear.