President Goodluck Jonathan, the incumbent governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have congratulated the Governor-Elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose of the PDP on his overwhelming victory in Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
President Jonathan also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Security Services and the good people of Ekiti State for the successful and peaceful conduct of the elections “in keeping with the present administration’s avowed commitment to ensuring that elections in all parts of Nigeria are progressively freer, fairer and more credible”.
President Jonathan urged Fayose to be humble and magnanimous in victory and commit himself to forming an administration that will work for the advancement of the interests of all Ekiti people irrespective of their political affiliations or loyalties.
The President also called on Mr. Fayose to regard his second chance to serve as Governor of Ekiti State as a sacred mandate from God Almighty and his people which he must discharge with immense dedication, wisdom and vigour to achieve a much more rapid pace of socio-economic development in Ekiti State for the benefit of its people who resoundingly reaffirmed their trust in his leadership by voting overwhelmingly for his election yesterday.
The President assured Mr. Fayose that the Federal Government will give all necessary support and assistance to his incoming administration and cooperate fully with him in furtherance of the present administration’s objective of significantly improving the living conditions of Nigerians in all parts of the country.
Also yesterday, Governor Fayemi congratulated the winner of the election as well as accepted his defeat. Fayemi in his press statement made available to our correspondent stated as follws: “If indeed this is the will of the Ekiti people, I stand in deference to your will. If the result of the elections is an expression of the voice of our people, we must all heed your voice.
“I have just spoken with my brother, Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose, congratulating him on his victory. In a few hours from now, I would be meeting the Governor-elect to discuss the future of our dear state and how we would work together to institute a smooth transition programme.
“It has been a hard fought election. As expected, in the course of the campaigns, there were unsavoury episodes as the candidates toured the nooks and crannies of the state to sell ourselves to the people. Elections tend to be highly divisive affairs that often see brother rising against brother. Despite our diverse party affiliations, and regardless of which way we voted on Saturday, we must remember that we are all sons and daughters of Ekiti State. Ekiti is ours to build together.
“On our part, over the course of the campaigns, we presented our scorecards before the people of Ekiti State. We never at any point took your support for granted. We campaigned, we canvassed and we traversed the nooks and crannies of this state. Our performance and achievements in office will remain the backdrop against which the next government and indeed future governments will be assessed.
We are proud that with the support of Ekiti people, we have raised the bar of excellence in governance. In all, we gave our best, for conscience and for posterity. Indeed a new sociology of the Ekiti people may have evolved. However, the task of understanding how the outcome of this election has defined us as a people will be that of scholars.
“For us as an administration and a cadre of political leaders in Ekiti State, we have fought a good fight, we have kept faith. To members of our party, our campaign team and indeed all Ekiti people who defied the siege on our state to cast their votes for our party, I salute your exemplary courage and doggedness in the face of harassment.
Thank you for staying the course. The incidences of brazen harassment, intimidation and allied infractions on fundamental human rights, which many of you suffered in the hands of agents of the state, would be documented and communicated to the appropriate authorities, for the records. I thank you all for listening. May God bless the land of honour, Ekiti State, Nigeria. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
