“It is your victory”, Kayode Fayemi tells Ekiti people they lighted the candle ray to a new dawn.
Victory at last! Kayode Fayemi
The winner of Nigeria’s longest governorship legal dispute finally took office on Saturday as governor of southwest Ekiti State, a day after an appeals court removed the former holder of the office.
Kayode Fayemi, 45, Action Congress of Nigeria candidate, was sworn in as the legal winner of the April 2007 gubernatorial poll in the state, succeeding Segun Oni whose victory he had wrestled during the appeal,
Oni’s legality as the people’s chosen candidate had consistently been challenge in several courts in real legal dare spanning well over 41 months.
Fayemi was sworn into office at the state capital Ado-Ekiti amidst jubilation and wild celebration from party loyalists and his supporters.
“Dear Nigerians everywhere, victory at last! Despite the unabating hope during our collective Rescue Mission to extricate Ekiti from the jaws of deprivation, we are overwhelmed by yesterday’s judgment of d Court of Appeal”,an obviously excited new governor reached out to millions of his fans across the globe through the social network forum, Facebook.
He continued:“ When I read your congratulatory messages. I read that you are saying: “Start the work already. Nonetheless, I won’t congratulate myself, I congratulate you my people. The work has started in earnest. Welcome to a new dawn”
His facebook message drew overwhelming responses from several sections of Nigerians people across the globe whom his message had been directed to starting with.
“It is the longest dispute ever known in Nigeria’s legal history to have been resolved in respect of governorship election,” said Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo.
Five judges of the court in Ilorin, in central Kwara State, unanimously ruled Friday to upturn the decision of a lower court which had earlier confirmed the controversial victory of Oni, candidate of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the state governor.
The 2007 polls that brought former president Umaru Yar’Adua and state governors to power were judged deeply flawed by local and international observers.
Fayemi with Victory Celebrants former Ekiti governor Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Deputy-Governor Funmi Olayinka, wife Bisi and close political associate Femi Ojudu
Since that election, courts have ruled to remove many governors and legislators whose electoral victories were proved to be fraudulent.
Addition: AFP.
Two dead celebrating Fayemi’s victory
Meanwhile,two persons are reportedly dead celebrating Friday’s victory of the new governor’s reinstatement.
They both died Friday night at Aiyetoro-Ekiti in Ijero Local government Area of Ekiti state. The middle-aged men had been celebrating the Tribunal ruling that returned Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the Governor of the state.
A witness, Tola Ogunlolu, said the two men were riding on high speed when they fell off their motorcycle and died on the spot. Efforts by onlookers to revive them failed, and on reaching the general hospital they were confirmed dead.
A nurse at the hospital, who pleaded anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the corpses had been deposited at the hospital mortuary.
In a related incident, four persons who sustained various injuries during the celebration in Ado-Ekiti on Friday were treated at the University of Ado-Ekiti Teaching Hospital and discharged.
Hospital sources said the victims were discharged late in the night following the ongoing strike by doctors in the hospital.
Meanwhile, celebrations of Dr. Fayemi’s victory have continued in major towns of the state, such as Ikole-Ekiti, Ikere-Ekiti, Ode-Ekiti, Omuo-Ekiti, Emure-Ekiti, Efon-Alaaye, Okemesi-Ekiti and Oye-Ekiti, among others.
At Isan-Ekiti, the hometown of Fayemi, the people hosted all night parties celebrating the emergence of their son as the new governor of the state. However, most residents of Ifaki-Ekiti, the home of Mr Segun Oni, who lost the hearing, stayed indoors upon hearing about the removal of their kinsman as governor.
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