Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ekiti State, Mr. Dele Ekunola, has expressed optimism that the party’s candidate in last week’s governorship election, Engr Segun Oni, will reclaim his “stolen” mandate in the court.
Ekunola said on Monday while addressing Journalists at the party secretariat, in Ado Ekiti, that the party had concluded that it would go to court to reclaim its mandate as expressed by the people of Ekiti State on June 18.
“I can assure you that we have concluded our plans to take the injustice meted on Ekiti people to the tribunal based on the weighty evidence before us. We are in the vantage position to reclaim our mandate because it was full of irregularities; ranging from vote buying and selling, intimidation, harassment of voters and destruction of electoral materials openly in the presence of the security officials.”
He continued: “What manner of adding salt into the inflicted injury on Ekiti people by refusing to pay them their entitlement ranging from salary, pension and gratuity, leave bonus arrears and welfare packages and such a government shared money ranging from five thousand naira to twenty-five thousand naira to buy votes?
“What kind of situation did we find ourselves in this part of the world? A non-performing sitting government buying votes with the money that belongs to everyone of us from the electorate, capitalizing on their situation due to the harsh and impoverishing policies and programmes of the government. Where did we get it wrong for God’s sake? Ekunola queried.
The chairman took the opportunity of the occasion to thank residents of Ekiti State for their unrelenting efforts and steadfastness through their votes against the alleged misrule of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State and assured them that they should keep the hope alive and informed that the mandate would be retrieved to Segun Oni in no distant time.
Ekunola demanded cooperation of party members and the good people of Ekiti State in the course of prosecuting the court case as victory, according to him, was assured.