Supreme Court Dismisses APC's Case Against Fayose

             

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Ayo Fayose as the governor of Ekiti State, dismissing a suit that sought to nullify the 2014 polls.

Mr. Fayose’s election was challenged by the All Progressives Congress, APC, whose candidate in the election, Kayode Fayemi, lost to Mr. Fayose.

The governor is currently facing an attempt by state lawmakers to impeach him.

Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, Mr. Fayose, in a state-wide broadcast on Monday asked the people of the state to maintain the peace and pursue their businesses and lawful duties normally.

He credited the success of his Peoples Democratic Party in Saturday’s House of Assembly election to Ekiti residents and thanked them accordingly.

Mr. Fayose said the victory confirmed that he had the genuine support of the people.

The governor said he would be vindicated at the end of the day and “triumph over whatever plot being hatched to truncate,” his tenure.

‎The APC had petitioned the Ekiti Governorship Election Tribunal challenging the victory of Mr. Fayose in the governorship election.

The Tribunal, on December 19, 2014, upheld Mr. Fayose’s victory and dismissed the APC’s petition for “lack of merit”.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, the APC went to the Court of Appeal, on the grounds that Mr. Fayose was not eligible to contest the governorship election since he had been impeached on October 16, 2006 during his first tenure as governor.

The APC also alleged that the governor forged his academic credentials and breached the Code of Conduct rules.

On February 16, a five-member Appeal Court panel, led by Justice Abdul Aboki, upheld the judgment of the Election Tribunal and affirmed Mr. Fayose as winner of the June 21, 2014 poll.

The Appeal Court, however, upheld APC’s complaints that the military was used to harass and intimidate its supporters and leaders during the polls.

The APC, not satisfied with the judgment, went to the Supreme Court.

The court on Tuesday upheld Mr. Fayose’s election, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.