Edo Election: Ize-Iyamu Contested against INEC, Fayose Insists

• Accuses UBEC of withholding N4bn fund

Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti

The Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, monday added his voice to the conduct of the Edo governorship poll, saying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, contested against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He said the party did not solely contest against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Godwin Obaseki.

Fayose added the APC victory in the election was “victory only made possible by the use of federal government agencies to subvert the will of the people.”
Obaseki, who was backed by the incumbent Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, won the September 28 governorship election.

Speaking on the outcome of the election through his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said it was unfortunate that those whose change was made possible because the then PDP government allowed the people the freedom to make a choice have now eroded the independence of INEC.

“The stage for the manipulation of the election was set by the use of security agencies to postpone the election, even when there was no single security threat and what was witnessed in Edo State last Wednesday was the execution of the rigging plans perfected after the postponement.”

He added: “Like I have said before, we are already seeing signs of what is to come in 2019 and Nigerians should know by now that it will only take their insistence for their votes to count as long as these APC elements remain in power.”

Meanwhile, Fayose has said the state cannot access over N4 billion from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Abuja because of the diversion of N850 million by the previous administration in 2012.

He said the diversion led to the suspension of the state from UBEC activities, leading to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) lacking resources to execute its projects.

He stated this during a meeting with members and leaders of the state chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in Ado-Ekiti. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, yesterday, the governor also said a parents’ summit would soon be held in the state to further sensitise parents on their roles in the provision of quality education for their children.

He described parents and teachers as the two most critical stakeholders in the sector.
The governor added that all critical stakeholders in the education sector must be alive to their responsibilities for the gains recorded in the sector by the state to be maintained.

In his speech, Ekiti State Chairman of NAPPS, Alhaji Saka Adeleye, commended the governor for turning around the sector which led to the state coming first in the recent examinations conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO).