Tuesday, May 05, 2009

PRESS STATEMENT OF FESTUS KEYAMO ON

EIKITI ‘FINAL RESULT’: THE SHAME OF A NATION

When, a few days ago, I cried out that nobody should be carried away with the antics of Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, some people thought I did not read the situation correctly. Instead of announcing the correct figures at the right moment or emphatically cancelling the inflated results from some wards, she preferred to engage in a phantom resignation and the use of some emotive words that misled Nigerians.

How have her actions helped Nigerians and Ekiti now? Her prevarication and dilly-dally has led to a highly-disputed outcome and possibility of violence in Ekiti State. That is what you must always expect when you fail to seize the moment to do what is right. It reminds me of Professor Humphrey Nwosu and the June 12 saga. Mrs. Adebayo, INEC, the PDP and security agencies have once again let Nigerians down.

If Segun Oni manages to continue as a controversial governor, it will be a travesty of justice for the Supreme Court to interprete his four year tenure as beginning from after this election just as in the case of Peter Obi of Anambra State. The simple question is that how can a candidate who is adjudged to have rigged an election, and who is now given a chance to re-contest a re-run, now have his tenure extended by another four years?

The case of Ekiti is a complete shame to our tottering democracy that continues to parade loses as winners and winners as losers.

We cannot continue like this. It is either we reform our electoral system immediately or we shall all have ourselves to blame in the end.

Thank you.

FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ