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Palpable tension is
mounting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, as the Court of Appeal
sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, will today deliver judgement in the
petition filed by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate,
Kayode Fayemi, against the majority verdict that declared Governor
Segun Oni of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the
governorship re-run election in the state in 2009.

Ayo Salami, the
president of the Courts of Appeal is expected to lead four other
eminent Appeal Court judges to deliver the judgment.

Mr. Fayemi is challenging the conduct of the election in five wards thus:

Ifaki wards 1 and 2, Orin/Ora, Usi – all in Ido/Osi local government, and Ipoti Wards A and B in Ijero local government.

Counsels to Mr.
Fayemi and the ACN, Tony Adeniyi, and that of the PDP, Obafemi Adewale,
acknowledged the receipt of the notice, saying the notice came to them
at about 11am yesterday.

The Action Congress
of Nigeria(ACN) governorship candidate in the state, Kayode Fayemi, had
filed an appeal last May against the return of Governor Segun Oni in
the highly vilified election that was held on April 25 and May 5, 2009.
The rerun election was held following an earlier suit filed by Mr.
Fayemi against the election of Mr. Oni in 2007. The Appeal Court in
Ilorin, headed by Mohammed Dattijo, had, on February 17, 2009,
nullified the election and ordered a rerun.

Mr. Oni had earlier
won through a split verdict at the lower tribunal, chaired by Hamman
Barka, where three of the five-member panel, including Mr. Barka,
validated the election of the governor.

Police deployed

Meanwhile, police authorities in Ekiti have deployed over 3000 policemen to all the 16 local government areas of the state.

The spokesperson of
the State Police Command, Jimoh Mohammed, confirmed the deployment,
assuring that the police would ensure that no one or group is allowed
to take laws into their hands. He warned politicians to desist from
anything that could jeopardise the existing peace in the state as a
result of the outcome of the judgment.

“The command headquarters in Ado Ekiti has mobilised its men to all
the police divisions in the sixteen local government areas to reinforce
those that are already on ground. The command is poised to curtail any
violence that may erupt as a result of the verdict,” he said.