Date Published: 04/29/09
PRESS STATEMENT 28TH APRIL 2009
EKITI ELECTORAL IMPASSE
DON’T TRANSFER OR FORCE MRS AYO ADEBAYO TO RESIGN
In a crucial meeting this afternoon, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties { CNPP} reviewed the unwarranted Ekiti Electoral Impasse , the unpatriotic axe-man role of Professor Maurice Iwu and the unpresidential posture of President Umaru Musa Yaradua and warns that on no account should Mrs Ayo Adebayo, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Ekiti State be transferred. She must be allowed to conclude and the announce the result.
When we learnt that President Yaradua was holding high powered meeting with key officials of his administration and top brass of the security agencies, CNPP thought that he could have ordered for Mrs Ayo Adebayo to go ahead and announce the result, instead he paged with the notorious lie of Professor Iwu that the lady is sick.
CNPP has it on good authority that Mrs Adebayo is heal and hearty, that she only rejected the questionable results of Ido-Osi and cancelled the Oye elctions because of the violence that marred the Oye two wards polls.
We challenge President Yaradua and his axe-men to show Nigerians Mrs Adebayo in sick bed or allow her to state her own account of the matter.
CNPP wishes to state that the Ekiti Election took place as scheduled, that Oye two wards were cancelled as a result of violence unleashed by Senator Arise and co and that the Electoral Officers duly rejected the eleven wards of Ido-Osi as provided by the Electoral Act, upon which Mrs Adebayo relied on Section 70 of the Electoral Act, based her decision to reject and cancel the results.
Consequently, Mrs Adebayo as the bonafide Resident Electoral Commisioner should be praised instead of being replaced by Mr Adedeji Soyebi or any other person for that matter OR FORCED TO RESIGN.
Nigerians should President Yaradua and his axe-men in the event of the collapse of our democracy, because those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable. What hope is President Yaradua given over Electoral Reform?
Mrs Ayo Adebayo is the heroine of the Ekiti Election.
Osita Okechukwu
National Publicity Secretary
CNPP
