NIGERIA: EKITI RETURNS TO NORMALCY AS AC PREPARES

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 000215 SIPDIS BAGHDAD FOR MCCULLOUGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: EKITI RETURNS TO NORMALCY AS AC PREPARES FOR LEGAL BATTLE REF: A. ABUJA 792 ¶B. LAGOS 213 ¶C. LAGOS 211 ¶D. LAGOS 193 ¶E. LAGOS 163 ¶F. LAGOS 112 Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL DONNA BLAIR FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: On May 6, following the May 5 announcement of the victory of Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Segun Oni in the contested Ekiti State gubernatorial rerun election, Ado-Ekiti broke out into violent demonstrations, as protesters clashed with police. The Action Congress (AC) candidate, Kayode Fayemi, then addressed his supporters and led a peaceful demonstration to calm the crowds. Mission contacts reported that the situation has calmed as the AC begins legal proceedings to annul the disputed results in Ido-Osi Local Government Area (LGA). End Summary. Fayemi Calms Protesters in Ado-Ekiti -------------- ¶2. (C) On May 6, after the May 5 announcement of PDP victory in the Ekiti gubernatorial reruns, violent protests broke out among AC supporters throughout the state capital of Ado-Ekiti (Ref A). Young people went out en masse, lighting bonfires and clashing with police, who fired their weapons into the air and used tear gas to disperse the crowds. On May 7, Churchill Adedipe, an AC member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, told Poloff that these demonstrations were quieted when AC gubernatorial candidate Kayode Fayemi addressed the protesters. Fayemi told them that the AC would not accept the results, but that it would use the courts and not violence to appeal the decision. Fayemi then led a peaceful demonstration through Ado-Ekiti raising awareness of the legal proceedings to take place. Calm Returns as AC Prepares for Legal Battle -------------- ¶3. (C) On May 7, Adedipe and Abiodun Oyeleye, a civil society activist in Ado-Ekiti, confirmed that Ekiti has now returned to normalcy. They told Poloff that the protesting stopped after Fayemi led his demonstration. AC supporters are now awaiting the start of the legal proceedings that will seek to annul the disputed results of Ido-Osi Local Government Area (LGA). Adedipe added, however, that he was unsure how long this "grievous peace" will last in light of the lengthy delays of administration of justice in Nigeria. He claimed that the people of Ekiti are fed up with ten years of PDP electoral manipulation and that although the AC will not incite unrest, protests may erupt again. ¶4. (C) Comment: Given the irregularities reported by observers in Ido-Osi's 11 wards, the AC is confident that it will win a court challenge. However, the court decision that led to this by-election was two years in the making and we do not expect a future legal battle to be much shorter. At the very least, the drama surrounding this election has been extensively, if not always accurately, covered in the local press and has raised the political awareness of ordinary citizens. End Comment. ¶5. (U) This cable has been coordinated with Embassy Abuja. BLAIR