Bode George, others allege plot to eliminate Lagos LP gov candidate

Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party comprising Chief Olabode George, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Senator Kofoworaola Akerele-Bucknor, and Mrs Onikepo Oshodi, on Monday, warned against any plot to take out the governorship candidate of Labour Party in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

They particularly condemned the campaign of calumny against him and threw their weight behind his candidature.

They spoke under the auspices of Members of Omo Eko Pataki, stressing that they would not want a repeat of what happened to the late Funsho Williams in Lagos State.

Leader of the group, Chief George, speaking at a press conference in Lagos, expressed worry over threats being issued against voters suspected to be willing to vote against the incumbency.

The group urged Lagos residents to be wary of voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the March 11 governorship election.

George said, “We wish to inform Nigerians about the heinous plan, to secretly eliminate the Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the latest move by the Lagos occupiers, to take him out of circulation before the election on Saturday.

“We, hereby, warn that, should anything happen to this vibrant bonafide Lagosian, who fate has thrown up to free our dear state from the stranglehold of marauders, Nigerians should know who to hold.

“We call on Nigerians to be wary of taking yet another wrong step to vote for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, government in the impending governorship election on March 11, 2023.

“Without any equivocation, we say under the watch of the APC government, our country has been bestride in widening uncertainties. There are no certitudes anywhere as lawlessness defines the national landscape.

“We cannot continue with the old ways. The system is now devoid of stabilizing balance. We must rework it. We must push towards a renewal and a rebirth. This is the time for us to have a change of vision through an electoral overhaul.

“We equally urge the electorate in Lagos to go out in their numbers on Saturday, to vote against the plundering that has bedeviled our prosperous state for over two decades as adequate security is assured to everyone out to exercise their civic responsibility.

“Lagos has remained a best example of a conquered territory where an Iragbiji native dwells like an obscene Persian monarch determining who becomes a councilor, who becomes a local government chairman, who becomes a House of Assembly member, who becomes a Representative, a Senator and a Governor.

“All these he does by compromising all agencies and organs of state, including the electoral commission itself. We also call on INEC, to ensure the use of transformational BVAS regime, for the transparency of the exercise, a departure from the February 25 archaic system, where result sheets were moved manually from polling units.”

He also said, “It is expedient for us as major stakeholders, to let Lagosians, Nigerians, and the international community be aware of developments both in the aftermath of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, as well as raise some pertinent concerns about the Governorship, and the State Assembly elections scheduled for this Saturday, March 11, 2023.

“Of paramount interest and concern is the issue of threat to lives by cronies and criminal elements, who we presume are being unleashed on innocent citizens who are willing to exercise their civic rights, to effect a positive change to their lives, the lives of their unborn children, using the civilised option of the ballot box, universally approved as opposed to the option of anarchy.
“As we speak, there are grand designs, to provoke the peace loving Nigerians, whose resolve is to effect change through the ballot box on Saturday, as threats are being issued against voters suspected to be willing to vote against incumbency.

“For the avoidance of doubt, a particular video has gone virile, on the social media, which showed a weird character, suspected to be one of the agents of the state, threatening brimstone and fire against anybody, particularly of South East extraction (Igbo), to dare come out on election day to vote for the Labour Party.

“In the words of the state agent in the video clip, ‘It’s either Sanwo Olu or nothing in Lagos’

“To this disposition, we, the Omo Eko Pataki, say it is the most heinous crime against humanity in this 21st century, and condemn such in all its entirety.

“We ask, who gave these characters the institutional authority and powers, to query the right of Nigerians to exercise their civic responsibility?

“We reject this divisive politics of annihilation of innocent Nigerians, which seek to create anarchy and provoke anger of the citizenry. We wish to remind all the non-Lagosians agents of the Lagos State Government, that Nigerians have lived together in peace, irrespective of any political party in power.”