Several hours after it was announced that he had lost his re-election bid, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has yet to overcome the shock and publicly react to the development. Efforts by newsmen to get his reaction have proved abortive, with his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, telling the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that his boss would react to the outcome of the election at the appropriate time.

The last public comment on the election by Governor Fayemi, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, was made during voting yesterday, when he commended the Independent national Election Commission (INEC) for introducing innovations which would eliminate delays in the voting process as well as eradicate irregularities during elections.

Dr. Fayemi gave the commendation after voting at about 1:00 p.m. at his Ojilolo Ward 1 Polling Unit in Isan-Ekiti.

He said he was particularly impressed at the early arrival of INEC officials as well as materials, adding that information available indicated that they arrived before 9.a.m. across the state.

The governor said that with this development, there were indications that the Ekiti election would record fewer hitches than that of Anambra in November 2013.

He, however, expressed worry over the activities of some security agencies which he accused of bias by indiscriminately arresting his supporters.

Fayemi, who alleged that some persons who had no role to play in the electoral process were in the state, urged the relevant agencies of government to intervene in the matter.

The governor trailed behind former governor Ayo Fayose in the election, eventually losing heavily. The result announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. Isaac Asuzu, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, gave Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) victory with 203,090 votes as against Fayemi’s 150,433 votes.

Speaking shortly after the announcement of the result, Director General of the Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation (AFCO), Chief Dipo Anisulowo, described his victory as “the voice of Ekiti people.” He said that “Ekiti people have spoken and have spoken loudly well with this election.”

Continuing, Anisulowo said: “We thank Ekiti people for their support and encouragement in the election. We also thank our party members and supporters for keeping faith and believing in us after all these years we’ve been out of government.”

He admitted that “we are not unaware that the stake is high and the expectations of the people are equally high,” but assured that Fayose was “ready because he had done it before and he is ready to even do it better now.”

He hinted that his party would run an “all-inclusive government which would make Ekiti people the main focus with the ultimate goal of moving Ekiti forward.”

Fayose this morning dedicated his victory to the people of the state, telling NAN in Ado-Ekiti that his victory reflected the wishes of the people of the state.

The governor-elect, who spoke through his Chief Press Officer, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, described the election that produced him as free, fair and credible.

He promised to improve the living standard of the people by providing job opportunities and making education affordable.

•Photoshopped image of Fayose beating Fayemi in the wrestling ring courtesy of Egalitarian AremuforYouths.

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