The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it was not involved in the allegation of vote-buying in last Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State. The party said it spent its resources and energy on a democratic campaign before the election, and therefore, did not “set up kiosks for the ‘see and buy’ of votes as the APC unabashedly did.”
PDP said in a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan that nothing would push it to descend to vote buying in any election, no matter the machination of the All Progressives Congress (APC). “Consequently, members of the APC who are going about media houses and claiming that their party bought votes in response to some parties that engaged in such practice are certainly not responding to the PDP,” the statement added.
The party, however, vowed that it would never allow the APC to get away with its crass abuse of democratic norms through which it allegedly suppressed the will of the Ekiti people and appropriated victory to itself in the governorship election. It restated its position that the Ekiti election would be the last election anybody or party would use any means whatsoever to manipulate it out at the polls.
This was just as a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), debunked the news making the rounds that he had taken the brief to represent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, in the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti State. Olusola lost the election to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. In a statement signed by his Personal Assistant to Mr. Debo Oladinni, Esq, he noted that his Principal had not been briefed by any candidate or political party to represent him or the political party.
“My Principal, Chief Wole Olanipekun, OFR, SAN, LL.D, in respect of the drama, propaganda, and conjectures making the rounds in Ekiti, and being sponsored by a group or some groups of people. It is not the style of either my Principal or that of Wole Olanipekun & Co. to announce in advance that he is going to appear for any party in court, even when he has not been briefed. And in this particular instance, nobody or party has briefed either my Principal or Wole Olanipekun & Co. to appear for him, either as Petitioner or Respondent.
“This story, which you described as ‘making the rounds’, as well as others, fabricated before, during and after the election, are not only merely figments of the imaginations of the peddlers, but also created to malign and denigrate the reputation of my Principal and other leading figures and lights in Ekiti and Nigeria, including the highly respected Aare Afe Babalola, CON, SAN, LL.D, who the hack-writers had earlier alleged was working and meeting together with my Principal to appear for an imaginary Petitioner.”
