It is no longer news that a tape was leaked by Captain Sagir Koli last year after the victory of Ayo Fayose in 2014 governorship election in Ekiti state. This tape was a video recording that alledgely exposed plans of a conspiracy
by top politicians of the former president Goodluck Jonathan's kitchen cabinet and a commanding officer of the Nigerian Army to rig the June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State. The summary of the report has it that 62 officers of the army were tried while a quite number of them either sacked, suspended or demoted. Captain Sagir Koli on his part had fled the country after the tape was leaked but only returned and restored to his former rank and post .
Things took a messy turn when on Sunday 31 January 2016, a former lecturer and Secretary of P.D.P, Dr . Tope Aluko came on air (Channels) to tell his own side of the story. Dr Aluko accepted that he was an accomplice in the whole planning and execution of the election rigging. He blatantly told the world, how ex president Goodluck Jonathan instructed the two services chief's Minimah (Army) and then Chief of Defence and Airforce (Badeh) to allow Ayodele Fayose stand in for him in Ekiti politics (try and rig for Fayose). He (Aluko) tried to explain how numerous soldiers were imported from neighbouring states and divided into a team of 44 and a further team of 62 on trucks . These soldiers were grouped into segments called "Strike Force" and their job was to harass , arrest and detain all opposition members in the state including those of PDP who had scores to settle with Fayose. Also according to him these soldiers arrested and detained these influential people a night before the election , at which point they were detained in primary schools and friendly police stations. These soldiers wore a purple armband to identify themselves . The polling units were not left out as the soldiers were sent to polling units with large numbers and also with the highest number of opposition to get the deal done.
DR. Tope Aluko who is a one time lecturer of the University of Ado Ekiti , was also the Chief Securtiy Officer of the Election team, Chief strategiest and the Returning Officer of PDP for the Ekiti state election . He further accused the present Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly as been the cordinator of the Strike force in all the LGA's of the state.
It was further revealed that INEC which conducts elections in Nigeria was the second option as more than N1 billion was given to them from the Presidency in respect of two elections (Ekiti and Osun). The Military was the first option and hence it's influence utilised.
Also two men namely Mr Oluwawole and Mr Adekombi were consulted and paid to look for lecturers who could do the work of a Returning Officer from the Federal University of Technology Akure. These returning officers were to meet with the PDP planning committee and reach a compromise on the results to be announced.
It did not end there as revealed by Aluko, that on 23 March 2014, Dr Ifeanyi Uba (CEO of Capital Oil) and who is a former Governorship aspirant of the Labour Party in Anambra State and also Cordinator of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (a group that supported President Jonathan's cause for a second tenure, meet with Dr Aluko, Fayose and Mr Adeyeye to deliver his $2m sponsorship fund which was in $100 note at the NNPC Towers. This was to be the first meeting with Ifeanyi Uba by Aluko as the two meet again in the residence of Uba in Abuja. Also the Presidency was not left out as the now National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki sent a fund of $32m, which was delivered by the no one else but the then Minister of State for Defence Senator Musiliu Obanikoro . The money was quickly disbursed to the "Stricking Team" which got N4m per group for a three days job, while the mobile van/ truck team got N1m per day and group for the same duration as the former.
It should be noted that Ayo Fayose won the controversial election which was conducted exactly 19 months ago and which sacked the then incumbent governor and now Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Fayemi. To correlate the story of Dr. Aluko, the EFCC had recently alleged that two sons of Musiliu Obanikoro had received a huge sum of money transferred from accounts that housed funds budgeted for arms and weapons procurement in the last administration . The sum was in excess of N4.745 billion , which was transferred to the account of Sylvan McNamara Limited, a company that is majorly controlled by the two sons of the former minister (Ibrahim Babajide and Gbolahan Obanikoro). This stated amount was transferred during the sane period the Ekiti State election was conducted and won by Ayo Fayose.
Obanikoro Musiliu is currnently and surprising at large , with reports of him currently studying at the Oglethorpe University in Georgia , USA, while his two sons reside in Suwanee Georgia where they own real estate purchase in August 2014 (the same period the transfers were made).
While Governor Fayose continues to deny to have limited knowledge in the rigging of the election that brought him to power , the Nigerian Army have just indicted some of their soldiers and EFCC traced a chunk of the Arms procurement fund from Dasuki to Obanikoro and his sons and finally the confession of his former Ally, Dr. Tope Aluko of being an accomplice. Only time will reveal the truth as the topic reaches boiling point each day .
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