Buhari, Oshiomhole formally presented Fayemi to Ekiti electorate during the rally

“With the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just-concluded Ekiti governorship election, Nigeria people have spoken, and they have spoken loudly, about their perception of the APC-led Buhari Administration,” Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of information and culture said in a statement on Sunday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had declared the candidate of APC, Kayode Fayemi, the winner of the poll which, many analysts claimed may be a window to the likely outcome of the 2019 general elections.

The APC candidate polled 197,459 votes to defeat his closest rival, the Deputy governor of the state, Professor Olusola Eleka who got 178,121 votes and also won in 11 out of the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.

“The election was more than one state’s gubernatorial poll. It was a referendum on the performance of the Buhari Administration. And Nigerians have given their verdict!”

“It’s not just a defeat for the PDP, it’s a defeat for all the naysayers who have made themselves the spokespersons for Nigerians.

“Furthermore, it is a death knell for fake news! Anyone who monitored the social media before and during the election would think it would be a landslide for the PDP. But the reality is different.

“We want to most sincerely thank the people of Ekiti State for ensuring that the election was free, fair and credible, as attested to by local and international observers, and for turning out en masse to exercise their franchise.

“In 2014, the votes of the people of Ekiti did not count as the then PDP-led Federal Government used federal might to hijack the election and concoct the result. They barred two serving Governors from travelling to Ekiti to support their fellow Governor. They willfully shut the Akure airport and we, leaders of the then opposition APC, were forced to return to Lagos by road in the night.

“With the roles reversed in 2018, we did not pay the PDP back in its own coin, because of our strong belief in the rule of law. The rest is history,” Mohammed said.