Tinubu, in a statement, stressed that the election would be easily won by the All Progressives Congress (APC) if it is free and fair.
“If allowed to proceed freely and fairly, the election is a foregone conclusion. Governor Kayode Fayemi has distinguished himself as a leader dedicated to the welfare of the people of his state. He has done more good in four years than his PDP challenger can do in a lifetime of lifetimes.
“The peace and development of Ekiiti should not be replaced by a retrogressive mind; in party formation, lack of character, lack of content and lack of discipline.
“Sadly, Labour Party’s Bamidele has let unbridled ambition get the better of him. Had he waited to gain the requisite experience and knowledge, perhaps he could have become a decent candidate in time. But that would have been years from now. That time has yet to come. At the moment, he is like unripe fruit picked much too early from the tree. We all know what happens when you eat such a thing. It is bitter to the mouth and hard on the stomach. The people of Ekiti do not need this.
“Thus, we watch an election that will not be so much about the candidates as it will be a revelation about those conducting the election and the puppet masters pulling the strings of those conducting the election. INEC botched the election in Anambra. It will likely perform poorly and with manifest bias in Ekiti. If INEC continues in this troubled way, history will record it as one of the authors of democracy’s death knell.
“The security forces are under instruction to obstruct the process and intimidate those who stand for Fayemi. PDP has raided the public treasury and is pouring the people’s money to buy the election for someone the people don’t want. Adding insult to injury, Minister of State for Defence has deployed to Ekiti where he is brandishing every tool at his disposal to thwart the will of the people.
“With the dire security conditions in the nation and the status of the Chibok girls still at ominous risk, one would think this senior defence official has more important work on his desk than to be the chief campaign hack of a candidate who strikes fear in the hearts of the people of the state. If only the PDP and its errant minister of state devoted as much energy and drive to our security challenges as they do to stealing elections, this nation would both be safer and more democratic. Instead, we sink into deeper insecurity and despotism.
“The election in Ekiti is important not only to the fate of that state but of the entire nation. No doubt, the PDP gang will stop at nothing to abridge the right of the people so that their brutish loser may win. This gives rise to the questions of the day. Will INEC bend as always or will it finally stand and do its duty as is proper? Will the people decide that enough is enough and not only vote but defend their vote in all proper and right ways? Will we see the advance of democracy or its retreat in the face of mounting suppression?
Culled from Tribune