The peaceful, transparent, free and fair elections legacy of former President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are rapidly being subverted by President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the preparations for the 2019 general elections garner momentum. These have been manifestly demonstrated in the final phase of the preparations for the Saturday, July 14, 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State. The electoral contest has been reduced to warfare where the security operatives of the federal government have been deployed to harass and intimidate the people, particularly, PDP supporters, including assault on Governor Ayodele Fayose by the Police despite his immunity.
Since the APC began to show signs of desperation to win the 2019 general elections, the initial thoughts and speeches of President Buhari that nobody should kill people to make him win re-election has since been suspended. Rather, the president have continued to watch with seeming delight as the electoral process is becoming violent while APC leaders boast with impunity to use the federal might at the behest of the ruling APC to win the governorship election Ekiti, and the Police have been behaving in manners that seem to fulfill the boasting of the party leaders.
There are noticeable indications that desperation have beclouded the desideratum of transparent elections. Responses to, or attendance of, the electioneering campaigns of the APC, showed that the party is unpopular with the people while the PDP recorded high participatory campaigns of the grassroots population.
The assault of Governor Ayodele Fayose on Wednesday heightened the level of electoral violence perpetuated by the Buhari administration against the opposition. The report first rolled out as a rumour but the Police in their response proved it otherwise; including the admission of illegal order on obtaining Police permit before holding campaign rally.
The Ekiti State Police Command had in a statement on Thursday explained that, “in furtherance to the presence of Police officers around the Professor Olusola Eleka pavilion at Fajuyi on Wednesday, 11st July, 2018, two political parties intend to have their rally at the same date and in Ado-Ekiti metropolis but the Commissioner of Police advised the political parties in writing on the need to have their political activity at different time and because of its security implication.”
The statement or explanation is a self-indictment of the Police in the admission of restriction of Police presence only adjacent to the PDP candidate; the bias and anti-PDP behavior of the security operatives was clearly exposed in that statement.
All through the 16 years of the PDP, the then ruling party seldom apply force to win elections in states where the opposition political parties were strong. They had always allowed the people to determine when they wanted change in those states.
Meanwhile, there is wide belief that the violent attitude of the Police is paving the way for what would be done by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to finalize the subversion of transparent election in Ekiti State on Saturday and frighten the people from protest.
Curiously, APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday in Abuja, endorsed the rising trend of subversion of transparent election being introduced by the ruling party government, covertly, justifying every action of the Police in Ekiti State, including assault on Governor Fayose.