PDP Did Not Win Ekiti- Sani

The President of the Civil Rights Congress of
Nigeria and prominent northern-based rights
activist, Mallam Shehu Sani on Tuesday declared
that the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti
State was far from being free and fair as
adjudged.
Sani, in a statement to newsmen in Kaduna on
Tuesday, said the election could not be free and
fair when the government of the day used
security operatives to harass and intimidate
political opponents to favour the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party’s candidate, Mr. Ayo Fayose.
The CRC’s boss noted that in the run off to that
election, key APC figures, campaign managers as
well as government functionaries were arrested,
adding that credible elections must be devoid of
the use of force or coercion in any way.
The pro-democracy activist warned that what
happened in Ekiti must not happen in Osun
State in during the forthcoming governorship
poll in that state.
“The PDP did not win Ekiti; they captured Ekiti
through the strategy of force and inducement.
Governor Kayode Fayemi’s acceptance of defeat
is more for peace than for justice. Those in
Abuja reveling in the victory over APC are
simply toasting to the cruel triumph of might
over morality. The will of the people cannot be
said to be freely expressed with a record
military planes hovering over the skies of Ekiti
and soldiers on the ground,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to rise up against what he
described as ‘forces against democracy’ and be
ready, prepared to defend their votes against
the predatory ruling party backed by the state
apparatus.”
Sani, a senatorial aspirant on the platform of
the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)
in Kaduna State, said democratic and
progressive forces in Nigeria should not tolerate
the repeat of the Ekiti episode in 2015:
He said, “Those who accepted, endorsed and
embraced Ekiti elections as free and fair are by
extension giving their imprint to the adoption
of it in the 2015 general elections.
“We fought and ended military rule in Nigeria.
We will not tolerate its return through the
backdoor. Drafting the military to supervise
elections position them to partisanship, drags
them into murky political waters and negatively
affect their professionalism.
“The Ekiti elections is neither free nor fair
irrespective of the acceptance of Governor
Kayode Fayemi. The cruelty and Brigandage by
the security apparatus in the days to the
election created an atmosphere of fear,
apprehension and intimidation that can in no
reasonable assessment be considered as fair