An Appeal Court in the Abuja Division on Monday, February 16, 2015 upheld the victory of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State in the governorship election held on Saturday, June 21, 2014.
The court threw out the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Kayode Fayemi which challenged the ruling of the Election Petition Tribunal which held on Friday, December 19, 2015.
Reacting shortly after the ruling, Governor Fayose, who spoke through a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital said the APC and fayemi should accept defeat, as the election which brought him to power was adjudged to be as free, fair and credible as the annulled 1993 presidential election.
He said: “What the Court of Appeal in Abuja did today further attested to the fact that the will of the people, clearly expressed, cannot be thwarted by a clique being propelled by political bitterness and selfish interests they want to promote.
“In the history of elections in Nigeria, I stand to be corrected, the election that brought me to office ranked alongside the June 12, 1993 presidential poll in terms of fairness, credibility and so on.
“Those who thought they could circumvent the process and the will of the people have been put to shame. I thank the judiciary for proving again that it is the hope of the common man. I hope that after suffering defeat in the 16 local governments, losing three nil at the tribunal and also losing woefully again at the Court of Appeal, the APC and Fayemi would give peace a chance.”
