In 2009, that was after the conduct of the re-run election between Segun Oni and Dr. Kayode Fayemi, more than 300 women, comprising the young and the elderly, took part in the protest over the delay in announcing the governorship candidate of the AC, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as the winner of the governorship election.
The women took to the streets of Ado Ekiti to protest against the candidate of the PDP, Chief Segun Oni, and the Electoral Commissioner who ‘supervised’ the rerun Ekiti Governorship election, Mrs. Adebayo Ayoka.
Due to the manipulation and rigging in that said re-run election, Mrs. Ayoka resigned her appointment. Part of why she resigned was because votes from eight of the 11 wards in Ido-Osi were allegedly collated at a police station contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act stipulating that votes must be collated at INEC designated centers.
However, it is unfortunate to compel a woman to serve as the referee of a game against her wish. We are thus free to deduce, especially from the silence of government on its role in the Adebayo Ayoka saga that the electoral commissioner was officially used to rig the election against the candidate of the AC, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. Against that background, we can condemn the government and the lady but we must not stop there.
More public office holders involved in the Ekiti electoral drama ought to be publicly indicted. Prominent among this group are the National Electoral Commissioners who superseded Ayoka Adebayo in the supervision of the event.
As Adebayo herself has revealed “I was actually not responsible for the Ekiti poll rerun election, especially in Ido-Osi. Some national commissioners came from the headquarters to take charge and I was just in my office.”
We also know now through her that N250 million bribe was collected by some INEC officials during the rerun gubernatorial election in Ekiti State.
If, as Adebayo has now explained she did not take part in the sharing of the money, who and who did? To sweep issues like this under the carpet in the hope that all will be well with INEC because a reputable team led by Jega has been put in place is to say the least naive.
So who is the notorious rigger in the past Ekiti Elections if not Chief Segun Oni?