By Sadiq Umar
The Supreme Court Tuesday upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal on the victory of Mr. Ayodele Fayose as the duly elected governor of Ekiti state in the June 21, 2014 Governorship election in the State.
The 7-man panel led by Justice John Fabiyi, in their unanimous ruling upheld the decision of the appellate court and the State Governorship Election Tribunal, saying the grounds of the plaintiff prayers lacked merit.
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta in his lead judgment dismissed all the grounds of appeal filed by the petitioner – the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and subsequently resolved the four points of the appeal against the plaintiff.
Earlier, Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man panel had upheld the ruling of the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, a development which resulted in the complainant to approach the apex court.
It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday, June 22, 2014 declared Fayose the winner, having scored a total of 203,090 votes as against former Governor Kayode Fayemi, of the APC who polled 120,433 votes in the election.
Following the Court verdict, wild jubilation erupted in Ado Ekiti, the State capital.
Governor Fayose was found amidst the party stalwarts and his supporters in Ado Ekiti, moving around in an open roof vehicle and savoring his victory.
