by Ranti Joseph

Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose has described the audio clip released by Sahara Reporters as fake. According to Fayose, he never held any meeting with anyone to rig the June 21, 2014 election, suggesting that his voice and those of others could have been faked using technology like Natural Voices.

He said the audio clip was APC’s new calculated attempt to discredit the election results, having failed woefully both at the poll and the tribunal.

This was disclosed in a statement released by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Idowu Adelusi. He said that the APC would have used the audio clip as evidence at the tribunal if it was genuine.

“Nigerians should be reminded of how the APC people lied in 2007 that they recorded how the governorship election was rigged even in the palace of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, but the party could not produce a single photo evidence at the tribunal because their plans to do what is known as Morphing and Syncing was exposed.

“Nigerians should also be reminded of the existence of a technology called speech software, which is good at reproducing the sounds, inflections and intonations of a human voice, one of such software is called Natural Voices,” he said.

He explained that APC manipulated the said election and failed, after which they tried to prevent him from assuming office.

Fayose said: “Now it is a fake audio clip, which is obviously targeted at the next week presidential election. Another question that should be asked by discerning minds is; if indeed such a meeting took place, could any of those purported to be present at the meeting have recorded the conversation and leaked it to the APC? Or was the supposed secret meeting held in the public such that it was possible for the conversations to be recorded?” he stressed.

Similarly, Musiliu Obanikoro released a press statement signed by Ohimai Godwin Amaize, his Special Adviser on Media Strategy, stating that he would never be found anywhere talking about rigging an election in favour of anyone.

He noted that the context of the conversation reported by Sahara Reporters had been manipulated and misinterpreted to achieve a predetermined narrative.

The statement said: “That Senator Obanikoro’s team was approached by an agent of Sahara Reporters to pay for the doctored recording. Obanikoro’s refusal to be blackmailed led to Sahara Reporters going ahead to publish the said recording. That it is an open knowledge that Sahara Reporters is a paid mouthpiece of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and as such cannot be taken seriously and credibly.”

“For all intents and purposes, it is a failed attempt to compromise the outcome of the Tribunal ruling and set the tone for public sympathy in the event of an unfavourable ruling. Old habits die hard. The APC is known for its manipulative antics in the manufacturing of forged certificates, hacking, propaganda and now the doctoring of audio recordings.”

“Kayode Fayemi and the APC have failed to explain how their gross unpopularity led to the loss of their wards and local governments to PDP’s Ayodele Fayose. There was a Tribunal set up for the Ekiti Election. Why was this audio recording not presented to that Tribunal? Having lost an election woefully and at the Election Petitions Tribunal, this is nothing short of a lame after-thought and a futile attempt to pervert the minds of unsuspecting Nigerians against the PDP in the coming general elections.”

“That the role the Nigerian Army played in safeguarding the elections in Ekiti and Osun States remains commendable, to general acclaim, locally and internationally. The APC and their cronies are the ones known for anti-democratic tendencies. Where was Sahara Reporters when free and fair local government elections were annulled by the APC in Lagos State?.”

Stating further, Ohimai disclosed that Obanikoro is initiating legal action against Sahara Reporters in New York and Nigeria for defamation of character.