Victor Ogunje in Ado-Ekiti
The Senator representing Ekiti South senatorial district at the Senate, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, has said it impugned on her integrity for some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to allege that the Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, influenced the state senatorial tribunal and Appeal Court Judges for her to reclaim her mandate through judicial means.
Olujimi was reacting to the allegation made by a group of APC members led by Senator Tony Adeniyi that Fayemi unilaterally changed the venue of the Appeal Court sitting in Olujimi’s favour in her judicial contest against Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
Olujimi, who described the allegation as “mischievous, slanderous and malicious,” said she retrieved her mandate because the election was marred with irregularities and for not being conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Acts.
The Appeal Court in Kaduna had on November 6, 2019, upheld a unanimous tribunal judgment sacking the candidate of the APC, Prince Adeyeye, and declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Olujimi, winner of the Ekiti South senatorial election held on February 23, 2019.
Olujimi, in a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, said: “My attention was drawn to a slanderous, mischievous and malicious write up by some lawyers and members of the APC imputing that the judgement was purchased in my case at the Ekiti Senatorial Tribunal and Appeal Court.
“My initial reaction was to say that I am not a member of their party and to allow them steam in their sauces. On the second thoughts, I felt that they and their co-travellers might misconstrue my silence to be admission of guilt.
“Let me make it clear that at no time before, during and after the trial have I met with or discussed the case with Governor Fayemi”.
“As a committed party person, I saw the allusion to the fact that Fayemi negotiated the judiciary on my behalf as an insult, not only to my integrity, but that of the noble judges who I never met, but were fearless in the discharge of justice despite the odds, and of course, on the governor whose preoccupation is only about his party.
“I will not hold brief for anyone but state that my case against Prince Adeyeye was straight forward. It was on the issue of my stolen mandate bordering on voodoo votes that were added to give him victory.
“It was an issue of sorting real ballots from ‘the rest’ and counting them in the presence of INEC officials, Police, DSS and lawyers of both parties. In fact, after the recounting of the real votes of two local government areas, it was clear that the game was up.
“Rather than ask for forgiveness from God and look inwards in order to correct his ways, Prince Adeyeye is still reeling in the stupor of his loss to be able to make such spurious, unethical, uncouth defamatory statement against their Lordships! He had assumed that being a member of the ruling party he is immune from the discovery of falsified votes.”
She lauded the judiciary for standing firm in the face of Adeyeye’s subterfuge by ensuring the will of the electorate prevailed, urging him to refrain from casting aspersions on the judges with vicious attacks with a view to creating the impression that they were compromised and biased.
