By Eniola, Kehinde Olatunji (Lagos) and Rotimi Agboluaje (Ibadan)
Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Drainages, Joe Igbokwe, has appealed to Igbo indigenes in the state to vote en masse for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the March 11 governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Igbokwe, who leads Ndigbo in Lagos APC, while addressing the press in Lagos, in company of Jude Idimogu, said the Igbo needed to support the president-elect, Bola Tinubu. He warned the Igbo not to allow a repeat of last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly election result, in which APC lost to Labour Party (LP).
Igbokwe described the outcome of the federal election as appalling, urging improvement in the state elections. On the threat to Igbo in Lagos and their businesses, Igbokwe assured the Igbo that no threat against them would work because the matter was being addressed.
YORUBA Youth Socio-Cultural Association (YYSA) has felicitated with Tinubu on his victory, commending him for his tenacity, courage and high-level focus that yielded positive result.
In a statement, yesterday, the National President, Habib Hammed, and National Secretary, Olawale Ajao, the group noted that Nigeria needed such a courageous person with enormous administrative and political experience to be successful.
“Surely, with Tinubu as Nigeria’s president, hope has been renewed and there is light at the end of the tunnel for Nigerians,” they said.The group implored Sanwo-Olu not to see Igbo people in Lagos as enemies or ingrates but relate with them cordially to move Lagos forward.
“There is no doubt that Igbo people are contributing immensely to the state’s economy even more than transporters. We (Yoruba) should ensure that our relationship with Igbo and other ethnic groups in Lagos continue to be healthy for we are blessings to each other.”
HOWEVER, governorship candidate of LP in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has appealed to Lagosians to repeat the support it gave to its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and other candidates of the party on February 25 at the governorship election next week.
Rhodes-Vivour made the call yesterday in Lekki, where he met with his campaign team. He said despite the machinations of the powers-that-be to truncate the people’s wish, the people were resilient.
His words: “Our victory is for the people of Lagos and it has set up the foundation upon which we can change the status quo and begin to build a better Lagos, moving forward. On Saturday, February 25, they came at us; so, I feel your despair, frustrations and anger at this system, which callously tries to subvert our will and make us feel like our votes don’t matter. Our votes actually count and it has retired some members of the status quo already. I have also heard about the threats they make to your livelihood, the intimidation on businesses and the violence they have promised to unleash on the people.
“Stand strong for I will stand firm with you through this all, and together we shall prevail. After we achieved victory, none of them will dare you. We must keep the fire burning. Even if they attempt to cow us, the only thing they cannot kill is our hope. Our hope has kept us going in the face of intimidation, thuggery and suppression. Our hope for a better Lagos and a better Nigeria has brought us this far. It has set us apart in this electoral cycle.”
Source: The Guardian
