Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
There was wild jubilation in Ekiti State yesterday as members of All Progressives Congress (APC) and admirers trooped to the streets to celebrate the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Saturday’s presidential poll.
Also, Hausa/ Fulani community in Ado Ekiti metropolis joined the jubilant APC members in company of masquerades, who danced from Ajilosun area of the state capital to the government house.
The broom-wielding supporters sang all sorts of songs to praise Buhari and tongue-lashed the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for his alleged desperation to win the election.
School children also trooped to the streets and received gifts from the jubilant APC members.
Meanwhile, the state Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has congratulated President Buhari over his re-election as president of the country for a second term.
Fayemi, who described Buhari as a focused, compassionate and sincere leader with genuine concern for the overall good of the citizenry, said the Nigerian electorate has demonstrated that given a choice, they would readily choose a sincere leader who cares for their wellbeing above other considerations.
A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, said: “On behalf of my family, the government and the good people of Ekiti State, I heartily congratulate our president for this historic re-election as president for a second term.
“No doubt, it has been a very tough battle, but the people of Nigeria have spoken in clear terms. They have chosen to reward the president’s sincerity of purpose with another term in office.
“Regardless of what anybody might say, the Nigerian electorate has demonstrated a high level of sophistication. They have shown that they have the capacity to sieve through electoral promises and determine a
leader that will serve their interest better.”
However, immediate past Governor of the state, Ayodele Fayose, has congratulated and commended Nigerians for the courage to stand against what he described as “gun-point democracy,” describing the victory of
Buhari as one which was secured “through the barrel of gun, and deserving no celebration by the winner.
Fayose, who reacted in a statement yesterday by his Media Aide, Lere Olayinka, said: “Rather than a word of congratulations to President Buhari, who will be leading our country against our wish as a nation, Nigerians are the ones who deserved to be praised for their courage.”
He described the roles played by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies in the election as shameful, saying: “Their inordinate and inglorious desire to deprive Nigerians of a credible leadership was made manifest from the start.
“This election will remain in the annals of our history as a bare-faced rape on democracy. Rather than celebrating today, Nigerians, especially those whose loved ones were brutally murdered for a cabal to sustain their hold on the country, are moody and sad.
“However, in their quiet moment, they are consoled with the fact that no one can attain everlasting joy by subjecting others to perpetual sorrow.
“As for the President; no victory songs for him, he should rather begin a soul-searching, constantly asking himself why he opted to drag Nigeria and its democracy back to the FEDECO years of 1979 and 1983 in which votes were merely allocated to candidates and privileged individuals.”
A senator–elect in and APC chieftain, Hon Opeyemi Bamidele, described the triumph of Buhari in the presidential poll as a signal that poor Nigerians have taken over governance in the country.
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti yesterday congratulating President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the APC political family across the country, Bamidele said the opportunity given by Nigerians provides a veritable platform for APC-led federal government to further tackle corruption, insurgency and unemployment that are pillaging the economy and creating crises in the polity.
“This victory is for the poor Nigerian masses. Since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, a few cabals had been leveraging on their strong tentacles across the geo-political zones to dictate who became the president to protect their biddings and fast growing economic empires,” he stated.
Also, the Director General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organisation, Dr. Olusegun Osinkolu, has said the victory of President Buhari in the presidential poll further attested to the fact that Nigerians were appreciative of the landmark achievements of the APC-led federal government.
Osinkolu congratulated members of his council in the state for delivering Ekiti State to President Buhari, while also saluting Nigerians for again amplifying their desire for a more prudent, descent and masses-oriented party like APC to lead Nigeria for another four years to afford it the opportunity of ridding the country of corrupt tendencies.
