L-R: A member of the legal team, Mr Bola Okeya; Chairman, Ekiti State ACN, High Chief Jide Awe; Senator Olu Adetunbi (Ekiti North), Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wale Fapounda; Victorious Ekiti State Governor, Dr kayode Fayemi; Senator Tony Adeniyi (Ekiti South); member of House of Representatives Hon femi Robinson; and deputy chairman ACN, Chief Dele Falusi rejoicing with Gov Fayemi shortly after the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court in Abuja.Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi , on Friday lauded the country’s judiciary for again demonstrating its resolve to always uphold the tenet of truth and justice, by dismissing the petition by ousted governor of Ekiti State, Mr Segun Oni who had sought a review of the Court of Appeal ruling on Ekiti State governorship on October 15, 2010.
The Governor also thanked all Ekiti people for their unflinching support for his administration and for believing in the sanctity of truth, saying that today’s victory has again confirmed that truth will always prevail no matter the situation and that Ekiti State will no longer be governed through fraudulent means.
Governor Fayemi who addressed journalists at the Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja shortly after the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court, said there was no basis for the petition by Oni, adding that his claims were frivolous, baseless and a waste of time.
Oni, Fayemi said had sought to use the frivolous case, which had spanned over two years, to distract him from actualising the developmental efforts going on in Ekiti State, and to give a false hope to his followers.
He however said that in spite of the long drawn legal battle, he had refused to be distracted, stressing that this is evident in the transformation going on in the state and the value that the administration has added to the lives of the average citizens.
Fayemi said it was high time electoral offenders were punished under the law to serve as a deterrent to others and to clean up the electoral process.
He said: “Oni and his jesters merely sought to use this case to distract us, but we refused to be distracted. We have remained focused all through concentrating on the development of the state and this is evident in the lives of the people.
“I think we should also put in place laws that will punish electoral offenders. I believe if Oni had been punished for rigging the 2007 governorship election in Ekiti State, he would not have had the effrontery to approach the court again seeking a backdoor to the governorship seat. It is sad that he rigged the 2007 election and was at the helms of affair of the state illegally for three and a half years, while I, the winner of the election was in court until the case was eventually decided in my favour in 2010 at the Court of Appeal.
“If the court having found Oni guilty of fraudulently occupying the governorship seat of Ekiti State and had gone ahead to punish him then, we would have been spared this unnecessary case, which to me only shows how desperate some people can be.”
The Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge, in Asokoro, Abuja wore a carnival look shortly after the Supreme Court judgement with many indigenes of the states and well wishers trooping in to congratulate Governor Fayemi. A crowd of journalists from several media houses also converged on the compound.
The dignitaries include renowned human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wale Fapounda; Senator Olu Adetunbi (Ekiti North); Senator Tony Adeniyi (Ekiti South), Senator Boroface Ajayi; Hon Robinson Ajiboye of the House of Representatives, former state Commissioner for Justice, Mr Dayo Akinlaja (SAN); Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Ekiti State chapter, High Chief Jide Awe; his deputy, Chief Dele Falusi; Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Mr Kayode Jegede; Director General, Office of Transformation and Service Delivery, Mr Tolu Dare; Special Assistant to the Governor on Legal Matters, Barrister Ibrahim, Barrister Okeya, among others.
Last modified: May 31, 2013
