As NBC shuts down Ekiti Broadcasting Service
The former governor of Ekiti State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Kayode Fayemi has emerged the winner in the governorship election held in the state on Saturday.
The results announced Sunday morning by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed Fayemi winning in 12 out of the 16 local government areas of the state.
Fayemi polled 197,459 while the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Olusola Eleka won in four council areas and polled a total of 178,114 votes.
Eleka won in his local council of Ikere-Ekiti, Emure, Efon and Ado-Ekiti while Fayemi won in Ilejemeje, Irepodun/Ifelodun, which is the local council of the incumbent governor, Ayodele Fayose, Ido-Osi, Fayemi’s local council.
He also won in Oye, Moba, Ijero, Gboyin, Ekiti West, Ikole, Ise Orun, Ekiti East and Ekiti South West.
As earlier reported by NewsGazette, the election was characterised by massive vote buying by the two main rival political parties-APC and PDP.
It was gathered that the money-for-vote game began on the eve of the election with voters besieging the offices of two to collect between N2, 000 and N5, 000, depending on the bargaining power and shouting ability of each voter.
Vote buying was carried over to the day of the election, leading to the arrest of many party agents who were caught sharing money for voters at most of the 2,195 polling units in the state the state.
Meanwhile, the first casualty of the tension-soaked election is the Ekiti Broadcasting Service which has been shut down by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for alleged breach of the provisions of the broadcasting code.
It was alleged Fayose went on air to declare the PDP candidate as the winner of the governorship election even while the collation of results was still going on.
Announcing the closure of the station, NBC’s southwest commissioner, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba said: “The Commission has taken the decision to curb the continued breach of the Electoral Act and the Broadcasting Code on Political Broadcast.
“The commission has taken the decision to curb the continued breach of the Electoral Act and the Broadcasting Code on Political Broadcast.
“The commission is particularly irked by the unauthorised declaration of results by the state governor in the state broadcast station.
“This is after he went in air to make malicious and unsubstantiated comments against INEC, the police and the SSS. The station will remain shut down until further notice.”
