LP’s Lagos victory: Don’t attack Igbo, others, Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu beg Lagosians

• Shun violence, remain peaceful, Jandor tells residents
• Election not war, calm down, Fayemi advises Nigerians
• Reactions trail Labour Party’s upset in Tinubu’s stronghold

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has appealed to Lagosians not to attack anyone, following the party’s loss of the state in Saturday’s presidential election.

Lagos is widely regarded as the political stronghold of Tinubu.

In a statement released by the APC Presidential Campaign Council and signed by Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu expressed concern over reports of violence in parts of the state, especially reported attacks on some traders of Igbo origin.

The former Lagos State governor condemned any form of violence against people of any ethnic group in Lagos.

“The fact that the APC narrowly lost Lagos State to another party should not be the reason for violence. As a democrat, you win some; you lose some. We must allow the process to continue unhindered across the country while we maintain peace and decorum,” the statement said.

Also, in a statement, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urged residents to be calm and shun violence.

He said: “We have got reports of friction in some parts of Lagos this morning. All is calm now. There is no need for violence, which is not part of our culture.

“I urge all Lagosians to go about their businesses without any fear of harassment. Law enforcement agencies have been asked to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order in any part of the state.

“I have been your governor for almost four years, promoting harmony and friendship across ethnic and religious lines without any form of discrimination whatsoever.

“Let us remain calm. All will be well. We are a peaceful people and so we shall remain.”

THE Lagos Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran (Jandor), said there should be no reason for violence in any part of the state.

Adediran made the call in a statement by Mr. Gbenga Ogunleye, the Head, Media and Communications, Jandor4Governor Campaign Organisation.

The candidate, who condemned reported attacks on some non-indigenes in the state, said the results should be accepted in good faith.

“I call on the good people of the state to continue to keep the peace and remain resolute on their readiness to change the government in the state through their voting in the March 11 guber election,” he said.

Decrying what he described as inhuman treatment meted on the electorate by political thugs in some local councils of the state, Adediran called on Sanwo-Olu to condemn the attacks and beef up security.

THE immediate past governor of Ekiti State and President of the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, also urged Nigerians to exercise utmost restraint and patience in the aftermath of the presidential election.

In a statement issued on his behalf by Ahmad Sajoh, the head of the Fayemi Media Office in Abuja, the former governor appealed to Nigerians not to make inflammatory comments or take actions that may lead to breakdown of the law.

Fayemi said: “The election is not war. There are about 90 million registered voters and it is impossible for all of them to have uniformity of electoral choices. Diversity and plurality of beliefs, ideas, and attitudes are the bedrock of representative democracy. An election will probably not be necessary if we all have the same choices.

“I, therefore, urge all Nigerians to be calm and not to make inflammatory statements or take actions that may lead to breakdown of law and order. We should allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to tally and announce the results.

“I note that INEC had challenges relating to the digitalisation of the electoral process but the Commission had promised to fix this. We should give INEC the benefit of the doubt and await completion of the process and announcement of the final outcome.”

Fayemi appealed to political leaders and actors to “exercise restraint at this point and not incite or encourage their followers to take the laws into their hands.”

According to him, “elections are a process and they don’t necessarily end with the announcement of results on election day. Aggrieved persons can still approach the courts to seek redress if they believe they have been cheated or robbed of electoral mandates.

“While elections will come and go, our country will remain. Therefore, we should not consider this particular election as the end of electoral opportunities for the country. There will be life after this election and we must all work together, regardless of the outcome, to make Nigeria great.”

THE presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, defeated Tinubu in Lagos with 9,848 votes.

Though Tinubu won more local councils, Obi defeated him with majority of the votes cast, recording 582,454 votes to Tinubu’s 572,606.

While Tinubu won in 11 councils, Obi had nine, leaving the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, a distant third.

Meanwhile, the former Lagos PDP Chairman, Tunji Shelle, faulted INEC’s handling of the election.

He said: “I don’t think the adhoc staff are properly trained. This affected the output of the election at the end of the day. It’s like they are not ready for use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). The uploading process was not properly done. Lots of results were not properly uploaded and yet we have results released. This is absurd and unacceptable.”

Reacting on the election, Fouad Oki, a member of the APC 2023 election task force team, described the exercise as “democracy at work,” noting that the people have spoken.

On the BVAS, Oki said hiccups are expected when technology is deployed newly. He, however, added: “I think whatever hiccups was created by BVAS is still part of the learning process and that should not hamper the outcome of the election.”

On her part, the LP chairperson in Lagos, Pastor Dayo Ekong, said the party demonstrated tenacity, for a deserved victory.

She said the win came despite intimidation and suppression. “Nigerians showed their resilience by making sure they exercised their franchise, and this is what we saw in the Lagos election,” she added.