BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
There is tension in Ekiti State following developments there after the July 14 governorship elections. Ayodele Fayose, outgoing governor of the state had in a programme on the state radio announced what he claimed to be the results of the election and then announced Kolapo Olusola, his deputy and candidate of his party (People’s Democratic Party,PDP) at the election as the winner.
Now, the announcement was made while collation of results were still on and the final results were yet unknown. Though results were being posted on social media, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had warned against the practice, while also advising against treating such results as official.
But more importantly the NBC is angry that authorities at the State broadcasting house allowed Fayose to read out results and declare his candidate as winner of the election thus violating the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The NBC believes that the infractions of the media house, which had earlier been sanctioned for unethical conduct after it ignored the advice of NBC, were becoming unbearable. The Commission had complained that Lere Olayinka, spokesman of the governor and director general of the Kolapo Olusola campaign organisation cannot also be the chief executive officer of the broadcasting service.
Oye Local Government Area Final Result
APC: 14995
APA: 87
ADP: 68
ACD: 18
DPP: 20
MPN: 17
PDP: 11271
PPA: 58
PPN: 3
KOWA: 3
Example of results posted on social media.
When that was ignored, the Commission imposed on the station a fine of N500,000. Still the authorities retained Olayinka as head of the state media. In fact, Olayinka also tweeted reports of alleged sharp practices by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC in the state.
But after the sanction on the eve of the election, the Commission probably expected the station to be contrite. The broadcast by governor Fayose did not suggest that. And conscious of the implications of the governor’s unfettered access to the state media and the impact some of unguarded remarks may have on the ordinary people, the Commission moved to avert crisis.
Already there have been jubilation on the streets of Ado Ekiti by suspected supporters of PDP, who believe the results announced by Fayose.
