October 15, 2014 – By midnight today, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressive Congress (APC) will cease to be the Governor of Ekiti State, paving way for the swearing-in of Mr. Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Governor of the state.
It has not been an easy ride for Fayose whom analysts say should be in the Guinness World Book of Record for defeating two seating governors at different occasions.
Fayose polled 203, 90 against 120, 433 polled by Fayemi who immediately conceded defeat. But for Fayose, conceding defeat was nothing but a political stunt.
In fact many who had expected the game to go the other way started condemning the people of Ekiti state for voting for Fayose. Some even said Ekiti people voted for stomach infrastructure some went ahead ahead to brand Ekiti people as fools for daring to vote Fayose Some even said that he would not perform while many became experts reading derogatory meaning into every figurative utterance of Fayose.
Among the critics was Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola who described the election of Fayose as worrisome.
“ It is a worrisome lesson to learn. However, the governor- elect still has criminal case to answer. They have not told us what will happen to that case. Is that consistent with the behaviour of the people? There are issues that cropped up to ponder on and questions to ask. No incumbent governor has lost election like this in this country to my understanding. Is this the way to reward a governor that embarked on massive infrastructural development in Ekiti State,” he asked.
Some even said Fayose can never perform. The comment of Fashola however came to some as worrisome for an individual who believes so much in democracy. Political pundits are of the view that Fashola could have rigged the election in favour of Fayemi if he had his way.
For many Fayose’s statement that Fayemi was not sincere in conceding defeat played out when few weeks later, Fayemi started putting up structures that could make the task of governance difficult for Fayose. The first thing he did was the creation of 19 additional local councils. He also appointed eight new permanent secretaries.
What followed was an attempt to halt the inauguration of Fayose coming up October 16, 2014, using the judiciary. Although Nigerians blame Fayose for allowing his supporters to unleash mayhem on judges, some are saying that his supporters would have acted having lost faith in the judiciary based on how the same judiciary was manipulated to take victory away from former Governor of the state, Mr. Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
