By Meletus EZE
Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Wednesday assured that he would not disappoint people of the state who gave him their mandate in Saturday’s governorship election.
Fayemi gave the assurance in Ado-Ekiti shortly after he received the Certificate of Return as the governor-elect from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The INEC National Commissioner in charge of Oyo, Ekiti and Osun, Mr Adedeji Soyebi, presented the certificate to him at the commission’s office, Ado-Ekiti.
The Deputy Governor-elect, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, also received his Certificate of Return at the ceremony.
Fayemi said the people of the story would enjoy the benefit of good governance from Oct. 16 when he would take over power.
He commended INEC for doing what he described as “excellent job” in the conduct of the governorship poll.
Contrary to the claims of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Fayemi said that the Saturday election was “seamless, free, fair, credible and violence-free”.
He stressed that INEC did a good job in delivering the election in a credible and professional manner in spite of fears expressed in the build-up to the poll.
The governor-elect also commended security agencies for their services during the exercise, saying that their presence gave the electorate confidence to come out and exercise their franchise.
He hailed the APC National Working Committee (NWC) led by the National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole and the Executive Committee of the party in Ekiti led by the Chairman, Chief Olajide Awe.
He said: “For INEC, the work has just ended and for us, the work has just started. We have a responsibility not to disappoint our people.
“Ekiti people will see the benefit of good governance by the grace of God as from Oct 16.”
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Prof. Abdul-Ganiyu Raji, expressed delight that the election was held in spite of the tension that preceded it.
Raji commended the people of the state for the maturity displayed before, during and after the election.
According to him, Ekiti is moving higher with the outcome of the election.
In his remarks, Soyebi noted that the presentation of the Certificate of Return marked the end of the process of the governorship election in the state.
Soyebi, who described Ekiti as a homogeneous state, urged the people to continue being their brother’s keeper.
He said: “Today marks the end of the election in Ekiti State on the part of the commission which is the presentation of Certificates of Return to the governor-elect and the deputy governor-elect.
“If there are issues arising from the election, there is another arm of government that will take care of that. This is another important day in the history of the state.
“On behalf of the commission, I congratulate everybody. Ekiti has pointed the way forward in conducting elections in Nigeria.”
