Jonathan, as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), flew into Lagos unannounced on Thursday night and reportedly held a series of meetings with top members of the party on how to ensure the emergence of Mr Jimi Agbaje as the next governor of the state.
Tinubu’s APC, however, drew the first blood as it accused Jonathan of being in Lagos to execute an election rigging plot. Jonathan’s PDP replied in equal measure, describing the allegation as “repulsive, infuriating and deliberate to attack the president.”
Tinubu, with his influence thrown behind APC’s candidate, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, also met with party chieftains at his Bourdillion residence at about noon, Saturday Tribune learned.
One of the groups met by the APC leader was G57, a forum of former chairmen of the 57 local government areas and local council development areas, who had supported Ambode since the nomination stage.
The state governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, was also said to be working round the clock to stop Agbaje from succeeding him.
The governor is said to have relocated to his Surulere base to handle winning strategy himself, following the defeat he suffered in his Surulere Local Government Area during the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Determined to ensure that the PDP doesn’t repeat the scare it gave his party in penultimate weekend’s elections, Tinubu is reportedly rallying all political forces in the state while using his men to keep an eye on PDP’s henchmen, with the coming of Jonathan to Lagos reportedly raising the stakes.
The APC alleged, on Friday morning, that its eagle eye had caught the rigging plans of PDP, to be spearheaded by Jonathan.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC accused the PDP of desperation to capture the state at all cost through the use of fake result sheets which were allegedly flown in from Abuja for today’s poll.
It warned that the people would resist any attempt to rob them of their votes.
The ruling party in the state claimed that the rigging plans were being led by Jonathan, who flew into Lagos to allegedly perfect the plans with his point men.
According to the party, those the president met include the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; Mr Agbaje and National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Chief Gani Adams.
The APC recalled that before the meeting, Nigerians, who were appalled by the PDP’s alleged rigging plans, had circulated on the social media, details of the planned electoral malfeasance, including the airlifting from Abuja to Lagos of a black Kia Mohave SUV marked DHQ 340, which was packed with election materials, especially result sheets.
“The meeting in Lagos was aimed at devising a strategy to distribute the fake result sheets that were packed into the SUV, which will be free to move around (because of its number plate) despite the restriction on vehicular movement during the elections.
“It is sad that the same president, who conceded defeat in the presidential election and then followed up with a speech in which he said he would like his ‘legacy’ of free and fair elections to endure, is the one who is presiding over a desperate move to steal the people’s votes on Saturday (today).
“How can President Jonathan’s ‘legacy’ endure when one of his last acts in office is a seeming vengeance mission to lead his party to capture Lagos, because the PDP sees the state as a cash cow that they can milk to death, with the party’s gravy train at the federal level having derailed?” the party queried.
“In their desperation over the Lagos election, they have shamelessly divided the people along ethnic, religious and regional lines, thus setting the stage for the condemnable hate speeches onto which they have in turn latched to further whip up primordial sentiments.
“The PDP cannot now seek to benefit from the problems it caused in the first instance. This party (PDP) and its leader, the president, have divided Nigerians in general and Lagos residents in particular more than any individual or group and at any time in history. If today things are being said that should not have been said, it is the direct consequence of the PDP’s divisiveness,” the APC added.
It, therefore, enjoined the president to desist from any vengeance mission that would only rubbish whatever was left of his “so-called” legacy of free and fair elections.
The party also enjoined all its members and supporters and, indeed, all the people of the state to be vigilant today.
“Lagosians, please, come out en masse on Saturday (today) and vote in a peaceful manner for a candidate of your choice. Say no to coercion, defend your votes and repudiate all architects of divisiveness and rigging,” APC said.
But the PDP and its candidate, Agbaje, denied the APC’s accusation and described the party as a bunch of liars.
Agbaje, who spoke through his media aide, Mr Remi Adefulu, said there was no truth in the claim that he and some other people met with the president to draw a plan to rig today’s poll.
According to Adefulu, who spoke on telephone with Saturday Tribune, Agbaje was busy on Thursday campaigning in several parts of Lagos.
The media aide said Obanikoro, who the APC alleged was at the meeting with the president, was also on the campaign train, whose activities were shown on television.
He said Agbaje and Obanikoro did not return from the campaign until around 10.00 p.m. on Thursday.
Adefulu said that Agbaje and the PDP had no plan to rig as they were busy campaigning while also enjoying popular support from Lagosians who, he insisted, rated Agbaje higher than the APC candidate, Ambode.
“Tell them, the APC are a bunch of liars. Agbaje was busy throughout yesterday (Thursday) with his campaign which took him to Alaba from Obanikoro up to Mile 2 and down to Festac Town.
“Obanikoro was equally part of the campaign. Television carried it. Agbaje did return to his office until past 10 in the evening yesterday. Agbaje is not ready to rig. That is why he has embarked on very rigorous campaign despite his popularity among Lagosians,” he said.
Adefulu stated that the APC was afraid and this occasioned what he called the series of lies the party was telling to hoodwink Lagosians who, he said, were poised to vote it out today.
Battle royale in divided Lagos
In the meantime, as the PDP spoils for victory today in the state after a streak of losses over a 16-year period and the APC looks to consolidate its impressive strength in the state since 1999, the Igbo and the Hausa communities in the state have expressed their readiness to participate in the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
The two tribes, especially the Igbo, have assumed the role of a major stakeholder in the politics of the state, given their pivotal votes that largely affected the outcome of the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
Publicity Secretary of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos and South-West, Mr Peter Anosike, said that all eligible Igbo living in the state were prepared to vote today based on their conscience and without fear or intimidation.
Anosike’s statement came against the backdrop of controversial remarks of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, wherein he threatened the Igbo with serious consequences should they vote today in the governorship election in a pattern that is not favourable to his choice political party and its candidate.
“The Ndigbo are at liberty to vote for whoever they want and whichever party they choose. This is in conformity with the freedom of expression that everyone has. The relationship between the Ndigbo and Lagos State dates back many years and has been beneficial to both parties in diverse ways. Therefore, the Ndigbo will continue to strive to do things that will ensure the sustainability of this relationship,” he said.
The spokesman of the Igbo group, however, refused to be drawn into the question of who the Igbo would be inclined to vote for today.
In the same vein, the Hausa community in the state said its members were ready to vote their preferred candidate today just as they freely did in the presidential election.
One of the leaders of the Arewa community in Lagos State, Alhaji Muhammadu Dandama, told Saturday Tribune that all was set for today’s poll and the Hausa community was looking forward to participate in deciding who will be the next governor of the state.
Dandama, who is the chairman of Sukura Yam Market in Mile 12, in Kosofe Local Government Area of the state, disclosed that he had led a house-to-house campaign in the area for the Hausa to come out in their numbers and vote for candidates of their choice in the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
He called for adequate security from the police and the military for peaceful and hitch-free elections today.
“We want the army and the police to come out as early as possible on election day because there is the need for them to guarantee adequate security for those who will be voting candidates of their choice,” he said
Lagos State, with two dominant political parties — the APC and opposition PDP — has never been this divided going into governorship and House of Assembly elections since the ongoing democratic dispensation commenced in 1999.
In 1999, the Alliance for Democracy was the state’s clear choice, bringing on board the government of Senator Tinubu, who was involved in changing the ruling party in the state to the Action Congress after winning a second term on the ticket of the AD. All other states in 2003 fell to the PDP but Lagos stayed with the AD.
In 2007 when it was time for a new administration, the overwhelming choice was still the ruling party with a new nomenclature, AC. However, in 2011 when incumbent Governor Fashola sought a second term, the political landscape had been coloured with issues beyond performance.
Indigenes vs. non-indigenes
Agitations for “an indigenous governor” and “Christian candidate” started rearing their heads, but by the time the two major political parties would make nominations for their governorship candidates for today’s poll, the agitations could only be ignored at their electoral peril.
This obviously accounted for both leading parties settling for Christian candidates, which means regardless of the winner of today’s poll between Akinwunmi Ambode of the APC (an offshoot of AC, ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria)) and Jimi Agbaje of the PDP, a Christian governor will be occupying the Alausa seat of power since 1999.
The nativity issue would also not go away too quickly and the apostles of it, is the turn of a son of the soil may work the field tirelessly today to ensure the realisation of that dream.
The two issues were initially not party-based but the outcome of the nomination exercise on both sides might have changed the tide.
Saturday Tribune learnt that chieftains of the two leading political parties who are of the Islamic faith and not comfortable with both PDP and APC producing same-faith candidates, might work elsewhere, giving their support to a fairly strong Muslim candidate.
With 62 per cent of the victory votes allegedly supplied by Muslims in 2011, it remains to be seen if swinging in a direction other than APC’s and PDP’s would upset bookmakers’ predictions.
Ambode’s alleged Ondo root was used to harass him during the party’s nomination but fences appeared to have been mended. Though with not too loud a voice, those pushing for a full-blooded Lagosian among the electorate may hurt him a bit in local governments with high concentration of indigenes, like Lagos Island, Apapa, among others.
The nativity controversy is, however, having more to do with the electorate than the candidates, since the outcome of the first round of the 2015 elections in the state had established a voting pattern that is giving APC sleepless nights and PDP, hope of possible dislodgment of the ruling party.
Despite losing the plurality of votes to APC by a little over 150,000 votes, PDP could as well pass for the “real winner” of the presidential and National Assembly elections in Lagos, where the party was expected to be heavily trounced by APC, given the state as its operational base and home to its heavyweights like Tinubu, Lai Mohammed, among others.
The bright showing of the PDP has been mainly ascribed to the resolve of the ubiquitous Igbo community in Lagos to support defeated President Goodluck Jonathan and his party wholesale, leading to the PDP taking five House of Representatives seats away from APC and Igbo candidates winning three of them.
The Igbo race, which believes it should have more preeminence in the administration of Lagos due to its numerical strength and contribution to the state’s economy, has since, with the election results, become the main issue in the state’s politics and all eyes will be on the Ndigbo to possibly swing victories today.
The decision of the Oba of Lagos, with his unabashed support for the APC and Ambode, to threaten the Igbo community if it delivered for the PDP today, has upped the stakes and firmed resolve to prove different points.
With the expected corollary effect of Oba Akiolu’s indiscretion on the fortune of APC and Ambode, APC’s leadership, both at state and national level, had engaged in major damage control drive, to attenuate what could be a colossal effect of the hate speech on how votes would be cast today.
The sudden appearance of the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, at a mega rally of the party on Tuesday, according to a party chieftain, was actually to get him to also rouse the Hausa community in the state to give Ambode a bloc vote that is also imminent from Igbo to Agbaje.
With Buhari reportedly meeting with the Hausa community and Ndigbo reportedly more resolute than ever to punish the ruling party in the state, the stage may have been set today for an unprecedented battle of the non-indigenes in determining whether Lagos would also witness a change after 16 years like the centre or continuity as desired by APC.
Christian vs. Muslim
Religion will also not be totally out of the voting picture today but possibly at a lower scale.
Lagos is home to thousands of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) faithful where Ambode worships.
The church members turned out for one of their spiritual leaders, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo, in their numbers penultimate weekend to elect him alongside Buhari and the same scenario is also likely today, though the excitement and commitment to vote might not be as high as then.
Saturday Tribune learned that certain Christian denominations with more non-indigene worshippers and who were not too comfortable that RCCG members were in the race for major elective offices reportedly voted against Buhari and Osinbajo penultimate Saturday and may repeat same today.
It could not be confirmed if PDP had any pact with such religious organisations.
The strong Muslim community in the state, which has been evidently more active than its Christian counterpart, appears not taken in by the decision of the two leading parties to pick female Muslim running mates, with a party source, who didn’t want to be seen as promoting religious issues, saying that the Muslim community had a long-standing relationship with APC leader, Tinubu and might not want to do anything that would jeopardise his interest now, despite the disavowal of his decision to concede the ticket to a Christian candidate.
The chieftain was certain the Muslim community in the state would give APC a bloc vote, adding that “don’t forget the Buhari factor. Muslims are the same everywhere when it comes to the interest of Islam. We must also be concerned about a Christian governor who would protect Muslim interest and Ambode would fit because his oga (Tinubu) is trusted by Muslims here (Lagos) and elsewhere.”
Igbo/Hausa factor
A look at the voting demography in the state in relation to penultimate weekend’s results would confirm the Muslim/Hausa affinity for APC. In the Hausa-dominated settlements, Buhari won easily and heavily there. He cleared settlements like Agege, Ikorodu, Lagos Mainland, Kosofe, Apapa, Alimosho and Mushin.
With 40 members to the state House of Assembly also in view to be elected, the most cosmopolitan state in the country with different tribes from all over the country making it their second home may also end up with a divided assembly unlike the past when the ruling party had everything.
The last election showed that Buhari led Jonathan with a little over 160,000 votes, but notwithstanding, it was an exercise which observers believed witnessed a poor turnout of voters in the state. Over five million Lagosians registered to vote and over three million got their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to participate in the polls. But it turned out that just about 1.4 million people voted in the presidential poll in the state.
The poor turnout, in one instance, has been attributed to perceived fear that hoodlums were going to have a field day on the streets of Lagos, against the belief that adequate security had not been put in place to guarantee people’s safety on that day. It later turned out that such fear of insecurity was unfounded and baseless.
Ahead of the poll today, the Hausa community in Lagos said it was prepared to vote the candidate of its choice as they did in the presidential poll and Ambode remained the man to beat.
Findings revealed that in the last few days, the community had involved in canvassing votes for Ambode, as the members continued to moblise all over the state in realisation of APC governorship candidate’s ambition to become the next governor of the state.
Alhaji Muhammadu Dandama, a leader of Arewa Community in Lagos State, said the Hausa community was looking forward to vote Ambode as next governor of the state.
For the Ndigbo, the choice could be presumed clear.
The results of the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state showed that PDP, a party which in recent times has been constituted largely by people from the South-East and South-South, won in five local government areas dominated by Igbo residents out of a total of 20 local government areas.
The five local government areas are Ajeromi/Ifelodun where the PDP polled 57,494 votes and APC, 37,715; Oshodi/Isolo, where the PDP scored 48,878 votes and APC, 42,585; Amuwo Odofin where the PDP garnered 39,391 votes as against APC’s 24,612 votes.
Also won by the PDP was the local government of Governor Babatunde Fashola, Surulere, where PDP scored 58,649 votes compared to APC’s 52,798 votes. In Ojo, PDP polled 40,685 votes as against 26,117 votes for APC.
Ajeromi-Ifelodun has the popular Apapa-Ajegunle, where millions of Igbo live. Amuwo Odofin’s ‘headquarters’ is Festac, which also has a large number of Igbo residents.
Isolo in Oshodi is reputed to be a “mini Igboland,” especially since it is situated close to Okota, which is another haven for the Igbo. There are also considerable presence of the Igbo at Bolade and Mafolukun, both in Oshodi. Ojo is currently fast developing, and it is on record that many of those migrating there are those from the South-East.
Governor Fashola is believed to have lost his local government during the presidential election after the Igbo living in ‘Coker Village’ in Surulere opted to vote for PDP.
The APC won in the remaining 15 local government areas dominated by the Yoruba.
The trend also explains why two non-natives (two Igbo candidates and one from the South-South) were able to win elections into the House of Representatives in Lagos State, against all odds.
Not only did the candidates defeat the Yoruba and, indeed, Lagosians in the process, but they also won on the platform of the PDP. They are Chief Oghene Egboh, Mrs Rita Orji and Mr Tony Nwoolu.
Egboh won the House of Representatives seat for Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area while Orji won in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area and Nwoolu won the Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency seat.
Egboh, who promised to lobby the Federal Government for the improvement of facilities in his constituency, attributed his success to his relationship with members of his constituency rather than ethnic sentiments.
The House of Representatives member-elect, who hails from Delta State, said his house-to-house campaign paid off, having worked for the election for the past two years.
“My success as a member of the House of Representatives-elect was very significant being a non-indigene to have won the seat for the first time in Amuwo Odofin, Federal Constituency. This is the first time the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would win in Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency,” he said.
Egboh was also quick to link his success to hard work, focus and the experience of being a politician having served two terms as councillor, both in Amuwo Odofin and Ojo Local Government Areas.
But a number of the Igbo and other non-natives of Lagos may have a different opinion, as investigations by Saturday Tribune suggest.
Many Igbo residents interviewed by Saturday Tribune opted to keep the candidates they would be voting for rather close to their chests.
However, a few others preferred not to mince words in revealing who they would be putting their stake on.
For Chika Ibe, a resident of Adura in Alagbado area of Alimosho Local Goverment, his tent was already pitched with the PDP.
Ibe’s reason for taking this path is not farfetched, as he expressed the idea that out of the two major political parties in the state, only the PDP had “the true Nigerian representation.”
A similar stance was taken by another resident who lives in the Boundary area of Apapa Ajegunle in Ajeromi-Ifelodun area of the state.
The resident, who declined to give his name, insisted that only a “fake Igbo man” would cast his vote for a particular party, especially in a community such as Apapa-Ajegunle which has a high number of residents from the South-East region of the country.
But not all Igbo are apparently toeing this path.
In a chat with Saturday Tribune, Titus Ukachukwu, a member of the executive of Umunna, a monthly forum for South-Easterners living in Lagos, said: “The Akiolu incident is sad but it won’t change anything in PDP’s favour. Tell me which state in the country has given non-indigenes enough room to operate and do their businesses like Lagos.”
He added: “There are two prominent sons of Igbo serving in the Lagos State cabinet, among other benefits we derive from the Lagos State government. This has been made possible by the APC-led government in Lagos State.”
It is uncertain which way the pendulum will swing today as it concerns which party the Igbo, who are reported to wield impressive population strength in the state, will vote for en masse.
This is because it is believed that the Igbo form about 20 per cent of the population of Lagos. This figure is so huge that the group is deemed indispensable for any politician seeking an elective office in the state, particularly those aspiring to become governor.
Therefore, the sign became somehow ominous for APC when the anti-Igbo remarks credited to the Oba of Lagos were made.
Though many eminent members of the Igbo community (and also from other tribes as well) have been making efforts to douse the tension created by the controversial remarks, it is not impossible that a fraction of the Igbo might still be holding a grudge against the monarch, and no better opportunity do this category of the Igbo have to hit back than through their ballots.
Yet, the intervention of the Eze Ndi Igbo in Lagos, Chief Nwabueze Ohazulike, in the entire saga might prove timely and invaluable, as he has appealed to Igbo residents in the state to remain calm ahead of today’s governorship election.
“The Igbo have a long history of cordial relationship in Lagos State with the Yoruba community and other Nigerians and shall continue to cherish such relationship and make concerted efforts to protect and enhance it and to continue to promote the spirit of unity of Nigerians, love, peace and inter-ethnic harmony in the state,” the Eze said.
Lagos is in the eye of the world today as it heads into the elections more divided than ever. Will it come out of the exercise united? The answer will come soon enough.
1 killed in Lagos APC/ PDP clash
Palpable fear has gripped residents of Oshodi area of Lagos State as one person was, on Thursday evening, killed in a renewed violence between thugs loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The deceased, identified as Esi, was killed around Mafoluku area of Oshodi as the hoodlums clashed.
Saturday Tribune gathered that the deceased was until his death, the leader of a group of hoodlums, who broke away from the APC to join the PDP.
The death of Esi sparked instant reactions as his loyalists went on the rampage before they were curtailed by anti-riot policemen who were drafted to the scene.
It was further gathered that another faction of hoodlums loyal to the APC was staging a rally to canvass for votes for the party when the clash started.
Residents of the area have expressed their fear over the possibility of a reprisal attack from the hoodlums who are loyal to the PDP.
A resident of Oshodi, who pleaded anonymity, while speaking with Saturday Tribune, said that, “the late Esi until recently was a member of the APC but he moved to the PDP and he has been having serious clashes swith his bosses in Oshodi.
“That was not the first time that they would clash in the last two months. They killed about six people and destroyed a lot of properties in their last two clashes.”
He expressed fear, when he said, “most people in this area are afraid now. They know that there would certainly be reprisal attacks. The PDP people know who killed Esi and they would certainly fight back.”
He called on the police in the state to be on the alert in Oshodi, saying, “the other faction will certainly try to avenge the death of their boss.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the death of one person in a chat with Saturday Tribune.
Source: Tribune
