It’s exactly one month to the governorship election in Ekiti state, and the two main parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are doing all in their power to ensure that the pendulum swings their way.
The two parties have both fixed major rallies in the state capital 24 hours away from each other, starting from Wednesday 21st May, when the APC national leadership will hand over its flag to the incumbent governor Kayode Fayemi.
Those expected to grace the APC rally which would hold at the Oluyemi Kayode stadium in Ado Ekiti are the national chairman, Bisi Akande, party leader, Bola Tinubu, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, APC governors and lawmakers, amongst others.
The next day (Thursday 22nd) at the same venue, it would be the turn of the PDP as Pres. Goodluck Jonathan will lead other PDP big shots to Ado Ekiti where the party’s flag will be handed over to Ayo Fayose, the PDP candidate.
The police commissioner in the state, Mr. Felix Uyanna, told newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, that he had deployed his men and officers to strategic locations to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
Uyanna, who spoke through the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Victor Babayemi added that his men had also commenced a stop-and-search operation on all vehicles.
He said, “The command has enough manpower to ensure that the rallies are held under a peaceful atmosphere. Once the protection of lives and property is our utmost duty, we are going to do all within our powers to curb any crisis that could lead to loss of lives.
“We have activated all the police units to be able to deal with any situation because we are not unaware of the personalities that will visit the state within the next two days. Our men from the Explosive and Ordinance Department had already commenced operation at the venue of the two rallies. They are combing everywhere as we speak.
“We are not going to limit our operations to this; we are also going to give adequate protection to all the hotels where some of these personalities will be staying. So, we are on top of the situation and we are monitoring situations very carefully.”
