Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Election in Rivers and Akwa ibom state is a sham says APC
As you are aware, the Governorship and House of Assembly elections were held across the country on Saturday.
While the elections went on smoothly in most parts of the country, the situation was different in some others, where all that took place was nothing but mock elections, a mere charade!
Two of the states that witnessed such caricature of elections are Rivers and Akwa Ibom, where elections were not conducted in accordance with INEC guidelines.
Because of this, we in the APC are left with no choice than to demand the immediate cancellation of the purported elections in the two states.
Let me now present more in-depth details of what transpired in Rivers and Akwa Ibom on Saturday, and why the elections in the two states cannot stand.
RIVERS
•It is clear that the script for the distortion of the Rivers elections was written by the Presidency and executed by the PDP, the police and militants
•As you would recollect, our party’s chapter in Rivers had written a petition complaining of the crass partisanship of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police in the Presidential and National Assembly Elections held on the 28th of March. Because of this petition, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Suleiman Abba, posted three Commissioners of Police from the Force Headquarters to oversee the April 11th Governorship and House of Assembly Elections in Rivers State.
•As soon as the President learnt of this development, he directed the IGP to reverse the decision and instead requested that AIG Tunde Ogunsakin be posted to oversee the April 11th Elections in Rivers State
•As soon as electoral materials were distributed, the Divisional Police Officer for Akuku Toru Local Government Area simply handed over the election materials for this local government to the militants. Upon learning of this development, AIG Ogunsakin ordered that the materials should be recovered and handed over to the Electoral Officer for the Local Government within the next hour.
•Irked by AIG Ogunsakin’s directive, the Presidency ordered him to leave Rivers State within 6 hours and a pliant replacement was asked to take over from him.
•From then on, unimaginative terror was unleashed on the electorate, in particular on APC members and supporters. It was a straight fight between the police, the militants and the PDP on the one hand and the APC on the other hand.
•Contrary to the directive from INEC that Card Readers be used for the elections, the machines were discarded in Rivers. This is why the voter turnout for Rivers, as announced by INEC for Rivers, stood at more than 75 per cent, compared with the national average of between 25 and 35 per cent.
•Gentlemen, because of these and other anomalies, we hereby unequivocally demand for the cancellation of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.
AKWA IBOM
•The APC fully supports the demand by its chapter in Akwa Ibom for the immediate cancellation of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom.
•Our position is based on the fact that elections in most parts of the state were not conducted according to INEC guidelines.
•Election materials were not supplied to most of the polling units in all the three senatorial districts.
- In former Governor Victor Attah’s ward in Ibesikpo Asutan, three contiguous polling units did not receive election materials.
- In the most of the polling units in Oruk Anam, which is the home local government area of Atuekong Etiebet and Chief Soni Udom, Director-General of the APC Governorship Campaign Organisation, most of the polling units did not receive election materials.
- Election materials were also not supplied to most polling units in Itu, Ibiono Ibom, Ikot Ekpene, Esisien Udim, Uyo, Eket, Abak, Nsit Ibom, Etinan, Esit Obolo, Ibeno, Nsit Attai, Ikono, Ini.
•In areas where polling materials were received, hordes of deadly armed thugs, escorted by men in Nigeria Police and Army uniforms, stormed the polling units and carted away the election materials midway into the accreditation process.
- For instance in Ndiya ward 3, unit 004 in Nsit Ubium, which happens to be the polling unit of our governorship candidate, election materials were supplied but thugs led by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Security, retired Capt. Iniobong Ekong, invaded the place and took away all the election materials. The thugs were later traced to the house of Capt. Ekong, where the election materials were recovered. An inventory of the recovered materials showed that the number of the ballot papers had reduced from 1,571 to 450. The polling officer could not account for the differential. Even so, the Divisional Police Officer of Nsit Ubium later stormed the place and took away the remaining materials.
•In a meeting with APC Governorship Candidate, Mr. Umana Okon Umana, the electoral officer of Nsit Ubium local government admitted that the election process in the area was marred by security failure, which allowed PDP thugs to hijack election materials and take them to private homes for thumb-printing.
•Similarly, invasion of polling units and snatching of ballot materials took place in other polling units in Uyo Senatorial District, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District and Eket Senatorial District.
•In addition to the failure to supply election materials to polling units and the snatching of ballot boxes, the elections were marred by widespread violence, resulting in the deaths of many people.
Here are instances of such unbridled violence, as related by INEC staff, party agents and other citizens who saw most of what happened.
- PDP thugs killed two of our members in Ibiono Ibom when Bassey Albert invaded a RAC centre in the area with over 50 thugs to cart away ballot materials.
- The PDP thugs also killed one of our members in Nsit Ubium.
- Three APC supporters were also killed Uyo.
- Yet another APC member was killed in Uruan.
- One more APC member was killed in Ini Local Government Area. This was acknowledged by the Assistant Inspect General of Police, Mr. Baba Adisa Bolanta, who was in charge of elections in the state.
We have included here some links to pictorial evidence showing the killings and other acts of violence that marred the elections in Akwa Ibom State.
•In view of the widespread failure by INEC to supply election materials to polling units in most parts of Akwa Ibom, the rampant snatching of ballot boxes and the bloodletting by PDP thugs that characterised the conduct of the elections on Saturday, we as a party hereby call for an outright cancellation of the elections.
We are vindicated that some local and international election observers have also been very critical of the elections in the two states, with some calling for an outright cancellation.
The leader of African Centre for Leadership Strategies and Development, Mr Humphrey Bekaren, said in Port Harcourt that the observers were shocked that INEC disregarded the widely reported violent irregularities to begin the process of declaring results in Rivers state.
He says: ‘’We request all lovers of democracy to join us in calling for the outright cancellation of the phony election.Unless this is done, we would have sown the seed that could eventually grow into providing a shade of fear and death over us.’’
Also, The Situation Room, which is a coalition of Civil Society Organisations working to ensure credible elections in Nigeria, called on INEC to ‘’urgently take steps to clinically scrutinise the final collated results from Rivers and Akwa Ibom, as well as Abia, against the polling unit results and make a reasoned judgment about them’’.
It said in its final statement issued a few minutes ago: ‘’In our view INEC should concern itself with possible negative public perceptions of the elections in the three States and ensure that it takes every necessary step to protect the integrity of the elections in the States, as a way of strengthening the trust of the electorate in the voting process.’’
We can’t cancel Rivers, Akwa Ibom results says INEC
The Independent National Electoral
Commission has said it has no power to cancel the results of the
governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections in Rivers and Akwa
Ibom states.
It made this known to the public
a few hours after the European Union Election Observation Mission to
Nigeria on Monday called for a probe of the “severe problems” that
characterised the polls in the two states.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC
chairman, Kayode Idowu, said those calling on the commission to cancel
the results were misdirecting their request.
He explained that once results had
been announced by INEC , only election petition tribunals had the power
to cancel and order fresh elections.
Idowu said, “The law does not allow us to cancel any result after it has been announced. Everyone knows this.
“It is only the election petition
tribunals that can order that or even cancelled the elections. We would
advice anyone who is aggrieved to go to the court. “
Also in Abuja on Monday, EU EOM said the
elections in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states needed to be probed because of
accusations of rigging, intimidation and violence by opponents of the
winners.
Udom Emmanuel won the governorship in
election in Akwa Ibom while a former Minister of State for Education,
Nyesom Wike, triumphed in Rivers.
The Chief Observer of the EU EOM,
Santiago Fisas, said at a news conference that even though the
elections witnessed “more efficient polling, “there were “increased
incidents of violence and interference.”
He added, “On April 12, INEC referred
to 66 reports of violent incidents targeting polling units, INEC
officials, voters and election materials in 19 states in all
geopolitical zones except for the North-East.
“Both the main parties made many
accusations of rigging, intimidation and violence by opponents. Problems
were most pronounced in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states where there are
multiple credible reports of violence and interference, which warrant
further investigation.”
Fisas however encouraged those with grievances to address them through official channels.
The Chief observer also commended President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat before the last result was read.
Fisas, who described the
election-related killings as regrettable, stressed that loss of lives
was unacceptable in election conduct.
He said, “It is very regrettable that so
many people lost their lives during the elections. Election must be
violence-free; loss of lives is not acceptable. Citizens should be able
to express their political will freely without fear for their lives.
“My full condolences go to families and
friends of those who have been killed during this election process; also
to the family of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kano, who
perished with his family in the tragic fire.”
Also on Monday, the United States which
congratulated Nigerians and INEC on the successful conduct of the
general elections, said it had “seen the reports of violence and alleged
irregularities, particularly in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.”
In a statement by its Embassy in
Nigeria, the US callED on those dissatisfied to pursue their
grievances peacefully through the judiciary.
The statement read in part, “The US
Embassy in Nigeria congratulates the people of Nigeria and INEC for an
electoral process on April 11, 2015 that generally went well across the
country and built on the success of the March 28 polling process.
“We have seen the reports of violence
and alleged irregularities, particularly in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states,
and call on those dissatisfied to pursue their grievances peacefully in
the judicial arena. We regret any loss of life and destruction of
property.”
It lauded “the leadership of Nigeria’s
political parties, notably President Goodluck Jonathan and
President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, for urging their supporters to conduct
themselves peacefully throughout the electoral process.”
Presidency, militants rigged elections in Rivers, A’Ibom –APC
But in Lagos, the national leadership of
the APC accused the Presidency and Niger Delta militants of rigging
the elections in two states.
The APC, at a news conference by its
Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, described the elections in the
states as a mockery of democracy.
It therefore called on INEC to cancel the elections.
The party said, “It is clear that the
script for the distortion of the Rivers elections was written by the
Presidency and executed by the PDP, the police and militants
“As you would recollect, our party’s
chapter in Rivers had written a petition complaining of the crass
partisanship of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police in the
presidential and National Assembly elections held on March 28.
“Because of this petition, the
Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, posted three police
commissioners from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to oversee the April
11 elections in Rivers State.
“As soon as the President learnt of this
development, he directed the IG to reverse the decision and instead
requested that AIG Tunde Ogunsakin be posted to oversee the April 11
elections in Rivers State.”
The APC spokesman said as soon as
electoral materials were distributed, a senior police officer in
Akukutoru Local Government Area simply handed over the election
materials for this local government to the militants.
He said upon learning of this
development, Ogunshakin ordered that the materials should be recovered
and handed over to the electoral officer for the LGA within the next
hour.
Mohammed said, “Irked by A Ogunsakin’s
directive, the Presidency ordered him to leave Rivers State within six
hours and a pliant replacement was asked to take over from him.
“From then on, unimaginative terror was
unleashed on the electorate, in particular on APC members and
supporters. It was a straight fight between the police, the militants
and the PDP on the one hand and the APC on the other hand.”
He said in former Governor Victor
Attah’s ward in Ibesikpo Asutan, three contiguous polling units did not
receive election materials.
Mohammed said that electoral officers
even told the APC governorship candidate, Umana Umana, that the election
process was marred by security failure, which allowed PDP thugs to
hijack election materials and take them to private homes for
thumb-printing.
The PDP however said it was wrong for
the APC to call for the cancellation of the results because there was
no way it would not have won the polls in the two states.
APC is wrong, says PDP
The National Publicity Secretary of the
party, Olisa Metuh, told one our correspondents that the PDP might as
well demand that the presidential election be canceled because of the
irregularities it noticed.
He said, “There was no way we wouldn’t
have won the elections in both Rivers and Akwa Ibom states because they
are our stronghold.
“Maybe we should as well ask that the
presidential election be canceled because of the irregularities we
noticed during the conduct of the election.”
Metuh called on the APC to learn to accept the outcomes of elections
Meanwhile, THE announcement of the
governorship election results by INEC enetered a second day on Monday
with the APC winning additional six states and the PDP, three.
The states whose results were announced
in APC’s favour are Zamfara, Jigawa, Adamawa, Niger, Nasarawa and
Borno. The PDP had Rivers, Delta and Cross River states.
As of Sunday midnight, INEC had formally
declared the candidates of the APC in 13 states as winners. The states
are Sokoto, Kebbi, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano,
Bauchi, Plateau, Yobe and Benue.
It also declared the PDP candidates in Gombe, Enugu, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom victorious.
When the results began to trickle in between 1pm and 7pm on Monday, INEC announced more APC candidates as winners.
In Nasarawa State, Governor Tanko
Al-Makura scored 309, 746 votes to beat his closest rival,Yusuf Agasi of
the PDP, who had 178, 983 votes.
Abdulaziz Yari scored 716,964 votes while Mamuda Shinkafi of the PDP in Zamfara State had 201,938 votes.
Also in Jigawa, Badaru Abubakar defeated Aminu Ringim of the PDP by polling 648, 045 votes. Ringim had 479,447 votes.
INEC merely confirned unofficial reports
of Jibrilla Bindow, Abubakar Bello and Kashim Shettima’s victories in
Adamawa, Niger and Borno states.
Bindow defeated PDP’s Nuhu Ribadu by scoring 362,329 votes. Ribadu had 98,917 votes.
While Bello had 593,702 votes, Umar Nasco of the PDP in Niger State had 239,770 votes.
In Borno State, Shettima scored 649, 913 votes as against 34,005 votes by Gambo Lawan of the PDP.
The PDP candidates however floored their APC counterparts in Rivers, Delta and Cross River states.
In Rivers State, a former Minister of
State for Education and PDP torch-bearer, Nyesom Wike, trounced APC’s
Dakuku Peterside having polled 1,029,102 votes. Dakuku had 124,896
votes.
In Delta State PDP’s Ifeanyi Okowa
became governor-elect after defeating APC’s O’tega Emerhor by garnering
724,680 votes. Emerhor had 67, 825 votes.
Benedict Ayade of the PDP in Cross
River also handed defeat to his APC closest rival Odey Ochicha. He
polled 342,016 votes as against Ochicha’s 53,983.
INEC which also updated the results of
the Benue State election, had declared the Imo, Abia and Taraba
state governorship results inconclusive.
As of Sunday night when the Imo results
were announced uncompleted, Governor Rochas Okorocha of the APC was
leading his PDP counterpart and Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha.
APC’s candidate in Taraba State, Jummai Alhassan, was also leading other candidates in the state.
Resign your position as Lagos APC chairman, Akande tells Ajomale
A chieftain of the All Progressives
Congress in Lagos State, Chief Ayo Akande, has asked the party chairman
in the state, Chief Henry Ajomale, to resign with immediate effect “for
his dismal performance in the just concluded elections in the state.”
Akande, in a statement on Monday, said
Ajomale had no moral right to remain as party chairman given that the
APC lost to the opposition in all the contested seats in the March 28
and April 11 elections in his unit, ward and the entire Oshodi Isolo
Local Government Area.
But Ajomale, in his reaction, on Monday, said Akande should be ignored “because I have performed.”
“If a leader or party chairman should
lose his polling unit in all elections for state assembly, Federal
Constituency and the governorship, such party chairman should resign,”
Akande insisted.
He said that Ajomale’s report card in
the just-concluded elections in the state had shown clearly that he had
lost his credibility as a leader and as such he should resign as the
chairman of the party
“Our party cannot continue to be
old-fashioned, things are changing and the party had to follow suit. The
APC leadership should not develop clay feet or whip up sentiment to
deal with failures or reward performance in the party as the
expectations of the people from the party are high.” the APC chieftain
added.
He commended the national leader of the
party, Bola Tinubu, for his doggedness and sacrifice for the victory
recorded by the party at the presidential level.
He said the victory of President-elect
Muhamadu Buhari and others at state and federal levels was a testimony
to the political doggedness of Tinubu, adding that he was certain that
Buhari would deliver as well as bring succour to Lagos.
But Ajomale described Akande as an unserious person who should be ignored by all well-meaning Nigerians.
The APC chairman, who spoke through his
Special Adviser, Mr. Adekunle Olayinka, said he did well by ensuring the
overall victory of his party at both the presidential and governorship
elections in the state.
Olayinka said, “Chief Ajomale is not a
ward chairman but the chairman of the entire Lagos State chapter of the
APC. Out of 20 local governments, he ensured the victory of the party in
15 local governments during the March 28 and April 11 elections.
“In Oshodi/Isolo, the Igbo population is
over 55 per cent and the candidates presented by the PDP were Igbo, so,
of course, they voted for their kinsmen. But Chief Ajomale led the APC
to victory and that is the most important thing.”
Supreme court affirms Fayose's winner of Ekiti state guber election
The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed Ayodele Fayose as the duly elected governor of Ekiti State in the June 21, 2014 election.
In a unanimous decision by the
seven-man panel led by Justice John Fabiyi, the apex court upheld the
earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State
Governorship Election Tribunal, which had both earlier ruled that the
petition challenging Fayose’s victory lacked merit.
In the lead judgment delivered by
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the apex court dismissed all the grounds of
appeal filed by the petitioner – the All Progressives Congress – and
resolved all four issues arising from the appeal against the party.
The Independent National Electoral
Commission had declared that Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party
polled 203,090 votes to defeat the then incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode
Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress who polled 120,433 votes in
the election.
Dissatisfied by the results declared by
the INEC, the APC had filed a petition, urging the Ekiti State
Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which sat in Abuja to nullify
the election.
The petitioner had anchored its case on
the grounds of alleged irregularities, intimidation of its leaders by
the military, ineligibility of Fayose to stand for the election and
allegation that the PDP candidate forged his Higher National Diploma
certificate presented to INEC.
The Justice Siraju-Mohammed-led tribunal
had, in its verdict delivered on December 19, 2014, dismissed the
petition for lacking merit.
The Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man panel on April 15, 2015 affirmed the decision of the tribunal.
The Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man panel on April 15, 2015 affirmed the decision of the tribunal.
But the APC further appealed to the Supreme having been dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal’s decision.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment on Tuesday, held that none of the grounds of appeal was proved by the appellant.
It held that while impeachment was not a
ground of disqualification from contesting as governor under section
182 of Nigeria’s constitution, the panel which recommended Fayose for
impeachment on October 16, 2006, was illegally and unconstitutionally
constituted.
It also held that the allegation of
certificate forgery had been caught by the principle of “issue estoppel”
as it had been laid to rest since 2004 by the Court of Appeal’s
judgment in the case of Alliance for Democracy.
According to the apex court, the Court
of Appeal had, in the said judgment, held that the HND certificate was
genuinely earned by and awarded to Fayose.
On the issue of militarisation and
harassment of leaders of the APC, the Supreme Court held that the Chief
of Defence Staff and the Inspector-General of Police, joined as 4th and
5th defendants in the case were not necessary parties.
The apex court held that the actions of
the men and officers of the two defendants that allegedly harassed the
APC leaders during the election and whose names were not mentioned could
also not be answerable for by the INEC as stipulated by the Electoral
Act.
__________________________________________________________________
There was anxiety in Ekiti State as the
Supreme Court in Abuja prepared to deliver judgment on Tuesday (today)
in the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress against the victory
of Governor Ayodele Fayose in the June 21, 2014 governorship election.
Fayose, in a state-wide broadcast on Monday, asked residents to maintain the peace and go about their lawful duties.
The governor, who thanked the people for
voting overwhelmingly for all the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidates
in the Saturday House of Assembly elections, said the victory had
confirmed that he had a genuine mandate of the people.
He said that he was sure that he would
be vindicated at the end of the day and triumph over whatever plot being
hatched to truncate his tenure.
A commercial driver, Ade Bamidele, expressed confidence that the governor would win the case.
A trader, Esther Orji, said the Ekiti
people required peace, saying the judgment would remove the tension
associated with the election.
The Ekiti Governorship Election
Petitions Tribunal had on December 19, 2014 upheld Fayose’s victory and
dismissed the APC petition for lack of merit.
Dissatisfied, the APC had gone to the
appellate court on the grounds that Fayose was not qualified to stand
for the election as a candidate because of his impeachment on October
16, 2006 during his first tenure as governor.
The APC also alleged that the governor forged his academic certificates and violated the Code of Conduct rules.
The five- member panel, chaired by
Justice Abdul Aboki, in its judgment on February 16 had upheld the
judgment of the Tribunal, which affirmed Fayose as the winner of the
June 21, 2014 poll.
Though the Justice Abdul Aboki-led
five-man panel dismissed the appeal filed by the APC, it found merit in
the appellant’s complaints that the military was used to harass and
intimidate its supporters and leaders during the polls.
Dissatisfied still, the APC had gone to the Supreme Court.
The Independent National Electoral
Commission had declared that Fayose polled 203,090 votes to defeat the
then incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, of the All Progressives
Congress, who polled 120,433 votes in the election.
Source: The Punch
Friday, 10 April 2015
Lagos kidnapping: Pay N13m or lose children, Nanny threatens parents
The nanny identified as Mary Akinloye
who kidnapped three children in Surulere area of Lagos State has given
the victims’ family two days to produce N13m ransom or lose the
children.
She was said to have issued the ultimatum through a man who used her telephone to communicate with the family.
It was gathered that the initial
N15m demanded by the kidnappers had been reduced to N13m after much
appeal by the victim’s mother.
How it happened was earlier reported here!
How it happened was earlier reported here!
Thursday, 9 April 2015
PUBLIC ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN TO LAGOSIANS
PUBLIC ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN TO LAGOSIANS ON THE APRIL 11 2015 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS
Dear Lagosians,
First let me thank you all for turning out to vote on the 28th March 2015 and for doing so peacefully to make history by electing the All Progressives Congress candidates in the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Dear Lagosians,
First let me thank you all for turning out to vote on the 28th March 2015 and for doing so peacefully to make history by electing the All Progressives Congress candidates in the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Once again, I must address you as we approach Saturday’s elections,
when you will be electing a Governor who will continue after me and
consolidate on the progress we have built together.
You will also be electing members of the State House of Assembly who will make laws on your behalf to assist the Governor and his team in the Executive arm.
Although your votes will be cast for one political party or the other, let me remind you that you will actually be voting for your wellbeing, security, prosperity and future.
You will also be voting for the future of your children. You will be choosing candidates and a party that you will entrust your lives to.
Think hard, think clearly, think deeply. Ask yourselves a few questions.
Who has shown a better record and example of protecting and securing you between the political parties?
Which of the parties cares more when disasters happen?
What is the record of the parties as it relates to the promises they have made to you in the past?
Which of the parties do you see regularly and which one do you see once in a while?
Which of the parties do you see when your life or property is threatened by epidemics like Ebola or by unfortunate accidents like plane crashes?
Which of the parties is showing that you can become home-owners without knowing anybody?
Which party has responsibility for providing electricity for you, and which one is taking up the responsibility to light up your streets and communities at night?
Which of them cares more about your children and their safety?
Indeed ask yourself; which of the parties threatened you with thugs on that sad Monday of March 16th and which is seeking to protect you by supporting the police; with patrol vehicles, fuel and other equipment?
Ask yourself when last you saw the Federal Fire Service in Lagos. The proud men and women of the Lagos State Fire Service have taken over admirably.
Ask yourself who should be supporting the police and who is actually doing it?
Dear Lagosians, your choice of who to vote for will be easy if you answer these questions within yourself honestly.
Indeed, you have clear choices to make between parties that use your resources to develop your society and community on the one hand, and the party that chooses to bring money to you for distribution when election beckons.
So you can choose between schools for your children, hospitals for your community, roads for your transportation or in the alternative, you can choose to have these services monetized once in four years.
Remember, that choices have consequences and your vote will decide the choice that shapes your lives.
Dear Lagosians, it is tempting to take the right and opportunity to vote for granted. It is tempting to think that it is too much trouble.
I agree that the process can be made much easier. But it is no excuse to refuse to vote.
Out of 5.8 million registered voters and 3.8 million PVC collections, only about 1.5 million turned out to vote, on the 28th March 2015.
Think of all the pain, the effort, the sleepless nights it took to get the PVCs to you. Think of the best way to show that the effort was not wasted or in vain.
It seems to me that the best way is to have all these 3.8 Million voters come out to vote.
By refusing to vote, you surrender decision making to a few and you will be bound by the consequences of your choices.
By refusing to vote, you do a great disservice to many who have lived before you, who fought very hard at great personal costs to themselves, to earn you this right.
By refusing to vote, you dishonour the sacrifice of patriots before you who fought for the right to vote.
Remember that when they were fighting for the right to vote, they were not fighting for yesterday, they were fighting for today and tomorrow.
They have handed today to you and I, can we secure tomorrow for the next generation?
Remember that since the capital of Nigeria was moved from Lagos 24 years ago in December 1991, Lagos has been abandoned by the Federal Government.
Ask yourself when the last major new road in Lagos was built by the Federal Government. It was the 3rd Mainland Bridge completed in 1990.
The assets the Federal Government left behind almost became a burden but for our resilience to maintain them. Today the Federal Government is owing Lagos N51 Billion which remains unpaid.
This is not in accord with the spirit of the promise made to Lagos when the Federal Government first declared Abuja as the capital in 1976.
The Head-of-State at the time, the late Gen Murtala Muhammed, said then and I quote him:
“…Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nation’s commercial capital and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the present infrastructure alone the committed amount of money and effort required will be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope.
(But we have coped at great sacrifice)
“It will even be unfair to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on its own. It is therefore necessary for the Federal Government to continue to sustain the substantial investment in the area. The port facilities and other economic activities in the Lagos area have to be expanded.
“There is need in the circumstances for the Federal Government to maintain a special defence and security arrangement in Lagos which will henceforth be designated a special area. These arrangements will be carefully worked out and written into the new constitution. Kaduna and Port Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and designated as Special Areas…”
Sadly, no Federal Government and indeed not the PDP Government has done anything to redeem that promise for the 16 years it was in power or to protect Lagos.
Instead of assisting Lagos, they attacked her. If you remember FERMA, in 2006, the same PDP seized your Local Government money and resisted the attempt to bring Government closer to you by creating more local Governments.
On Monday 16th March 2015, the same PDP continued in their tradition of assaulting Lagos. Their supporters took over a major road in Lagos and threatened your peace and security.
On Wednesday 18th March 2015, the President-Elect, Muhammadu Buhari came to Lagos and said Lagos will receive compensation for the role she has played in maintaining Federal Government Assets.
Yesterday on Tuesday the 7th of April 2015, he was here in Lagos in his first political engagement since he became President-Elect and he reiterated his commitment to support Lagos.
This is what I will vote for. This is what I urge you to think about as you vote on Saturday.
This is the place that every Nigerian calls his home. It is the home of displaced people. It is the place where the homeless arrive and are made welcome.
It is the place where generations of Nigerians have arrived without knowing anybody but have, through the opportunities and inclusion, become somebody.
This is the place where the Late Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya and Owelle Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe consummated the handshake across the Niger and played politics without bitterness.
Tell those who try to divide us that our greatest strength has always been our diversity.
Tell them that you feel safe here, and that I have continuously assured you of your safety as the basis of our mutual co-existence.
Tell them that our waterways have been assets of prosperity and sustenance, for transport, recreation and fishing and they will remain so.
Let nobody now attempt to re-write that history for you.
When they reel out false statistics about Lagos, please ask them the statistics about the places they governed for 16 years.
When they reel out statistics, please remind them that those statistics don’t stand in isolation, they are the burden of a whole nation and many parts of West Africa that Lagos state bears.
When they promise you heaven and earth, remember their broken promises on power, security and many more.
Ask them to show you a plan, if they can produce one, which is doubtful, ask them whether they have implemented it elsewhere.
Tell them that you have seen the Lagos Development plan for 2012 – 2025, that the Lagos Light Rail Project, the Adiyan Water Works Phase II of 75 Million gallons a day, the solar power for all schools and many more which are part of the plans for you and your children and which are already being implemented.
Tell them that you will vote to keep a plan that you can see, that is already working, instead of a plan that you have not seen.
Ask them what happened to Vision 20:20, to the 7-Point Agenda and to Transformation.
Tell them that your bird in hand will not be traded for a dozen unseen birds in the bush.
Tell them that this election is not about money, tell them that it is not about ethnicity and it is not about religion.
Tell them that this election is about the place you call your home, the place you earn your living and the place where your investments are the safest.
Tell them that you will not play ethnic or religious politics with your survival. Tell them that you will not vote with anger.
Tell them that you will vote with common sense and for experience.
Tell them that you have seen Lagos survive without Federal support, and you wish to see her flourish with Federal support.
That will be the most historic thing you will have done, putting Lagos in the centre with your votes.
History and tomorrow beckons. Don’t turn your backs.
Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State.
You will also be electing members of the State House of Assembly who will make laws on your behalf to assist the Governor and his team in the Executive arm.
Although your votes will be cast for one political party or the other, let me remind you that you will actually be voting for your wellbeing, security, prosperity and future.
You will also be voting for the future of your children. You will be choosing candidates and a party that you will entrust your lives to.
Think hard, think clearly, think deeply. Ask yourselves a few questions.
Who has shown a better record and example of protecting and securing you between the political parties?
Which of the parties cares more when disasters happen?
What is the record of the parties as it relates to the promises they have made to you in the past?
Which of the parties do you see regularly and which one do you see once in a while?
Which of the parties do you see when your life or property is threatened by epidemics like Ebola or by unfortunate accidents like plane crashes?
Which of the parties is showing that you can become home-owners without knowing anybody?
Which party has responsibility for providing electricity for you, and which one is taking up the responsibility to light up your streets and communities at night?
Which of them cares more about your children and their safety?
Indeed ask yourself; which of the parties threatened you with thugs on that sad Monday of March 16th and which is seeking to protect you by supporting the police; with patrol vehicles, fuel and other equipment?
Ask yourself when last you saw the Federal Fire Service in Lagos. The proud men and women of the Lagos State Fire Service have taken over admirably.
Ask yourself who should be supporting the police and who is actually doing it?
Dear Lagosians, your choice of who to vote for will be easy if you answer these questions within yourself honestly.
Indeed, you have clear choices to make between parties that use your resources to develop your society and community on the one hand, and the party that chooses to bring money to you for distribution when election beckons.
So you can choose between schools for your children, hospitals for your community, roads for your transportation or in the alternative, you can choose to have these services monetized once in four years.
Remember, that choices have consequences and your vote will decide the choice that shapes your lives.
Dear Lagosians, it is tempting to take the right and opportunity to vote for granted. It is tempting to think that it is too much trouble.
I agree that the process can be made much easier. But it is no excuse to refuse to vote.
Out of 5.8 million registered voters and 3.8 million PVC collections, only about 1.5 million turned out to vote, on the 28th March 2015.
Think of all the pain, the effort, the sleepless nights it took to get the PVCs to you. Think of the best way to show that the effort was not wasted or in vain.
It seems to me that the best way is to have all these 3.8 Million voters come out to vote.
By refusing to vote, you surrender decision making to a few and you will be bound by the consequences of your choices.
By refusing to vote, you do a great disservice to many who have lived before you, who fought very hard at great personal costs to themselves, to earn you this right.
By refusing to vote, you dishonour the sacrifice of patriots before you who fought for the right to vote.
Remember that when they were fighting for the right to vote, they were not fighting for yesterday, they were fighting for today and tomorrow.
They have handed today to you and I, can we secure tomorrow for the next generation?
Remember that since the capital of Nigeria was moved from Lagos 24 years ago in December 1991, Lagos has been abandoned by the Federal Government.
Ask yourself when the last major new road in Lagos was built by the Federal Government. It was the 3rd Mainland Bridge completed in 1990.
The assets the Federal Government left behind almost became a burden but for our resilience to maintain them. Today the Federal Government is owing Lagos N51 Billion which remains unpaid.
This is not in accord with the spirit of the promise made to Lagos when the Federal Government first declared Abuja as the capital in 1976.
The Head-of-State at the time, the late Gen Murtala Muhammed, said then and I quote him:
“…Lagos will, in the foreseeable future, remain the nation’s commercial capital and one of its nerve centres. But in terms of servicing the present infrastructure alone the committed amount of money and effort required will be such that Lagos State will not be ready to cope.
(But we have coped at great sacrifice)
“It will even be unfair to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on its own. It is therefore necessary for the Federal Government to continue to sustain the substantial investment in the area. The port facilities and other economic activities in the Lagos area have to be expanded.
“There is need in the circumstances for the Federal Government to maintain a special defence and security arrangement in Lagos which will henceforth be designated a special area. These arrangements will be carefully worked out and written into the new constitution. Kaduna and Port Harcourt are to be accorded similar status and designated as Special Areas…”
Sadly, no Federal Government and indeed not the PDP Government has done anything to redeem that promise for the 16 years it was in power or to protect Lagos.
Instead of assisting Lagos, they attacked her. If you remember FERMA, in 2006, the same PDP seized your Local Government money and resisted the attempt to bring Government closer to you by creating more local Governments.
On Monday 16th March 2015, the same PDP continued in their tradition of assaulting Lagos. Their supporters took over a major road in Lagos and threatened your peace and security.
On Wednesday 18th March 2015, the President-Elect, Muhammadu Buhari came to Lagos and said Lagos will receive compensation for the role she has played in maintaining Federal Government Assets.
Yesterday on Tuesday the 7th of April 2015, he was here in Lagos in his first political engagement since he became President-Elect and he reiterated his commitment to support Lagos.
This is what I will vote for. This is what I urge you to think about as you vote on Saturday.
This is the place that every Nigerian calls his home. It is the home of displaced people. It is the place where the homeless arrive and are made welcome.
It is the place where generations of Nigerians have arrived without knowing anybody but have, through the opportunities and inclusion, become somebody.
This is the place where the Late Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya and Owelle Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe consummated the handshake across the Niger and played politics without bitterness.
Tell those who try to divide us that our greatest strength has always been our diversity.
Tell them that you feel safe here, and that I have continuously assured you of your safety as the basis of our mutual co-existence.
Tell them that our waterways have been assets of prosperity and sustenance, for transport, recreation and fishing and they will remain so.
Let nobody now attempt to re-write that history for you.
When they reel out false statistics about Lagos, please ask them the statistics about the places they governed for 16 years.
When they reel out statistics, please remind them that those statistics don’t stand in isolation, they are the burden of a whole nation and many parts of West Africa that Lagos state bears.
When they promise you heaven and earth, remember their broken promises on power, security and many more.
Ask them to show you a plan, if they can produce one, which is doubtful, ask them whether they have implemented it elsewhere.
Tell them that you have seen the Lagos Development plan for 2012 – 2025, that the Lagos Light Rail Project, the Adiyan Water Works Phase II of 75 Million gallons a day, the solar power for all schools and many more which are part of the plans for you and your children and which are already being implemented.
Tell them that you will vote to keep a plan that you can see, that is already working, instead of a plan that you have not seen.
Ask them what happened to Vision 20:20, to the 7-Point Agenda and to Transformation.
Tell them that your bird in hand will not be traded for a dozen unseen birds in the bush.
Tell them that this election is not about money, tell them that it is not about ethnicity and it is not about religion.
Tell them that this election is about the place you call your home, the place you earn your living and the place where your investments are the safest.
Tell them that you will not play ethnic or religious politics with your survival. Tell them that you will not vote with anger.
Tell them that you will vote with common sense and for experience.
Tell them that you have seen Lagos survive without Federal support, and you wish to see her flourish with Federal support.
That will be the most historic thing you will have done, putting Lagos in the centre with your votes.
History and tomorrow beckons. Don’t turn your backs.
Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State.
Hate campaign: Push APC into Atlantic Ocean, Agbaje tells Igbo
The Peoples Democratic Party governorship
candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has urged Igbo across the
state to push the All Progressives Congress ‘into the lagoon’ by voting
for him on Saturday.
Agbaje said this while addressing Igbo traders at the Alaba International Market on Thursday.
The PDP candidate urged them to ignore
the threats made by the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, that if they do not
vote for the APC governorship candidate on Saturday, they would die in
the lagoon.
“Nobody can push you into the Atlantic
Ocean. Rather, you should use your votes to push the APC into the
Atlantic Ocean by voting massively for the PDP on Saturday,” Agbaje
said.
He urged the people to ignore the scare tactics being marshalled by the APC, saying, it was the antics of a drowning party.
Agbaje said, “Election is like a snake.
You have to make sure you win by killing the snake completely by using
your votes to drive the APC out of power. The reason why they are
harassing you is because they fear Igbo votes. They will try to do
‘shakara’ for you but you must vote massively for the PDP and protect
your votes.”
Agbaje, who was accompanied by his
running mate, Alhaja Safuratu Abdulkarim; and the Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, said the APC had become
arrogant because the party had been in power for too long.
He said, “In the last 16 years, the APC
has been full of arrogance. This arrogance must end once and for all.
Saturday is the time to say enough is enough.”
Counselling the audience to eschew
violence and refuse to be intimidated at the polling venue, Agbaje urged
them to guard their votes.
He said, “God is on our side and power
will change hands on Saturday and life will be better for you and your
businesses. There will be no oppression again because this election is
about freedom from bondage.”
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