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If there is one man who is victorious and probably the luckiest in Ekiti State, it is Gov. Ayodele Fayose. The reasons for this assertion are not farfetched. Governor Ayodele Fayose has been battling with so many challenges since he is sworn into office last year, October 16, 2014 to be precise. But luckily for him, he has overcome all. Governor Fayose had won three legal cases filed against him by the opposition party to challenge his victory as governor. It started from the High Court level to the Appeal court, and finally to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has, yesterday, nullified the appeal filled by the members of the All Progressive Congress in Ekiti State challenging the legibility of Governor Fayose in a governorship election that has produced him as the Governor of Ekiti State. The Supreme Court has ruled that the impeachment of Governor Fayose in 2006 was carried out illegally; hence the argument by the APC that Gov. Fayose wasn’t qualified to contest for the governorship race on the premise that he had been found guilty and impeached from office in 2006, is baseless.
Similarly, on the issue regarding his educational qualification, the Court dismissed the allegation by members of the APC in the state that the HND certificate presented by Gov. Fayose was falsified. The Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeal has affirmed that Governor Fayose truly holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) from The Polytechnic, Ibadan. It would be recalled that the Court of Appeal, while upholding the victory of Governor Fayose of Ekiti state in the June 21, 2014 Governorship election, had noted that the issuing institution of Fayose’s certificate, which was the Polytechnic of Ibadan had forwarded a letter stating that the certificate in contention was issued by it. The allegation was, therefore, again dismissed yesterday by the Supreme Court, noting that APC failed to provide any evidence before the court to show that the certificate was forced.
Aside the fact that Governor Fayose was able to overcome the legal cases filed against him by the opposition party in the state, he has also in nine (9) months won three different elections for himself and his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This reasonably suggests that the man is loved and accepted by the people of Ekiti State. The first election he won for his party was the Ekiti State Governorship seat, which he is presently occupying. The second one was the Presidential election held on 28th of March 2015. In all Southwest States except Ekiti, the President-elect, General Muhammad Buhari was able to win. Governor Fayose did not only win Ekiti State for President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, he ensured that Mr. President won General Muhammad Buhari with wide margin. It is important to add that Governor Fayose also won nine National Assembly seats for his party.
Furthermore, the last election conducted in Ekiti State was the State House of Assembly. Again in the election, Governor Fayose reaffirmed his popularity and acceptability in Ekiti State by winning nineteen out of twenty four seats for members of his party. Without doubt, PDP will be the dominating party in the Ekiti State House of Assembly comes May 29, 2015. This would be an added advantage to the personality, popularity, acceptability and government of Governor Fayose in Ekiti State.
On a similar note, the impeachment process embarked upon by the APC lawmakers in the state is likely to prove abortive. This is so because the few days left for the lawmakers to vacate Ekiti State House of Assembly Chamber would not be enough for them to carry out this impeachment process, except if they do it illegally and not with due process. And even if they do, Ekiti people and Nigerians as a whole including General Muhammad Buhari are likely to frown at it. After all, the President-elect on the platform of All Progressive Congress, General Muhammad Buhari, has given his words when he was campaigning that his government would operate according to the rules of law and with due process. The best APC lawmakers and members in Ekiti State can do now is to accept the victory of Governor Fayose with the spirit of sportsmanship and contribute their own quota to the successful administration of the governor for the sake of people of Ekiti, the state itself and the country at large.
