Three days to Saturday’s governorship and state assembly elections, political stakeholders, groups and fringe political parties endorse their favourite candidates
LAGOS: Beware of Rhodes-Vivour’s fake promises, Yoruba leaders warn
•Political actors, groups endorse Sanwo-Olu
Yoruba leaders have advised residents of Lagos State to be wary of fake campaign promises of the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour.
The leaders under the aegis of Yoruba Leaders of Thought said that promises being made by Rhodes-Vivour were a ploy to hoodwink Lagosian in his desperate attempt to gain power by all means.
The group led by Prince Tajudeen Olusi, in a statement by its National Secretary, Mr Bayo Aina described as fraudulent the promises by the LP candidate to make N60,000 as minimum wage if elected.
Aina added that the proposed minimum wage was not only deceitful, and unrealistic but which was borne out of desperation for power.
Meanwhile, a number of groups and political parties have endorsed the candidature of the Lagos All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate. For instance, the leadership and candidates of the Accord Party in Lagos State have declared support for Governor Sanwo-Olu.
Its Lagos State chairman, Mr. Dele Oladeji said Accord and its candidates decided to support Sanwo-Olu and other APC candidates in Saturday’s elections in the interest of the state.
Southsouth residents back Sanwo-Olu
South-south residents in Lagos yesterday declared their support for the re-election bid of Governor Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Babafemi Hamzat, citing continuity of development and inclusiveness in their governance of the state.
The residents, under the auspices of Cross Rivers, Rivers, Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa (CREDAB) Peoples Association and South-south Peoples United Forum, expressed optimism that Sanwo-Olu’s re-election would ensure development and a conducive environment for all.
The groups’ joint declaration for Sanwo-Olu was contained in a statement by their chairman, Otunba (Engineer) Isaac Emiyede, read to reporters by the coordinator, Chief Lucky Oyakhire.
The groups noted that the reason for the LP’s victory in Lagos during the presidential election on February 25, was because the people were not sensitised.
In a separate development, the Gospel Musician Association of Nigerian, (GOMAN), Lagos chapter, has also commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for making Christians proud with his pro-poor development programmes and running the State without any religious bias.
Lagos GOMAN governor, Psalmist Israel Eyinju said this at an emergency meeting of the executives of the association held recently at Majok Plaza, Oshodi, Lagos,
He called on all great leaders of GOMAN and churches across different religious divides to support Sanwo-Olu’s candidacy.
Similarly, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has urged the Hausa community, artisans and the traditional leaders of Ojokoro in Agege Local Government Area of Lagos to come out en masse and vote for the APC candidate.
Aregbesola also called for massive votes for all candidates for the House of Assembly elections.
ABIA:
Massive defection hits LP as members join PDP
No fewer than 3200 party members have dumped the LP for the ruling PDP in Obingwa and Isiala-Ngwa South Local Government Areas of Abia State.
In Obingwa, the defectors numbering over 3000 and led by Maduka Akpulonu, the campaign manager of one of the party’s senatorial candidates in the February 25 National Assembly election joined the ruling party.
They were received at Osusu Amaukwa Model School by PDP ward chairman, Elder Erondu U. Erondu Jnr among other leaders of the party yesterday.
Similarly in Isiala-Ngwa South, the former LP members said they decamped because of the excessively elitist nature of their former party’s governorship candidate, Dr Alex Otti as well as his inaccessibility to common citizens.
The defectors also accused Otti of being arrogant and deceitful with his claim that he is from the Isiala-Ngwa South, whereas he is from Arochukwu but decided to choose his running mate from Ohafia both within the Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency of the state.
The Isiala-Ngwa South defectors were received by the Transition Council (TC) Chairman of Isiala-Ngwa South, Chief Ike Anyatonwu at Isi Eketa Market Square in Ovuokwu Ward-9, Isiala-Ngwa South.
Other PDP chieftains who joined the TC chairman in receiving the defectors at the event include Dr Chris Nwagboso, Chief Uzoma Ihuka, Elder Godwin Nna, Emeka Eze, Chief Lucky Adindu and the PDP ward chairman.
ENUGU:
‘PDP will win Enugu governorship poll’
The PDP would win the March 18 governorship election in Enugu State, the Director-General of the party’s Campaign Council, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, has said.
Asogwa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Enugu that his confidence stemmed from the tested pedigree of the party’s candidate at the election, Dr. Peter Mbah,
“It is not about the party anymore. Among the contestants, Peter Mbah of the PDP is the most competent and knows how to do the job perfectly.
“I am confident that PDP will win because of Mbah’s pedigree and his robust manifesto to move Enugu State forward. If we need to be transparent and truthful, Mbah is the best candidate of all the candidates in the election because of his private sector background.”
Meanwhile, a group, the Nsukka Professionals Association (NPA), has raised alarm over alleged plots to cause violence during Saturday’s governorship election in Enugu State.
NPA specifically alleged that information available to them indicated that there were plans to import armed thugs into Enugu North Senatorial district, clad them in security uniforms, unleash them to wreak havoc and rig the elections in six local governments in the zone.
Speaking at a news conference in Lagos yesterday, the group’s president, Charles Nwodo, urged all security chiefs in the state to take steps to investigate these allegations with a view to preventing it from happening.
He also appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IG) Alkali Usman and other security chiefs to fish out the murderers of the LP senatorial candidate, Oyibo Chukwu, a day before the last presidential and National Assembly elections.
OGUN:
Waste managers, PDP candidate endorse Abiodun
Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria(AWAMN) in Ogun State has endorsed the second term bid of Governor Abiodun, vowing to mobilise members and relatives to vote for him and other candidates of the APC.
The body hinged the endorsement on the governor’s impressive performance in waste management, keeping the environment cleaner and safer as well as creating of an enabling atmosphere for private businesses, including waste disposal firms, to thrive in the state.
The PDP House of Assembly candidate for Abeokuta South State Constituency 1, Solomon Enilolobo, has also shelved his ambition and declared support for Abiodun. Enilolobo, announced his stepping down from the House of Assembly race scheduled for Saturday when he led his supporters to the Iperu-Remo residence of the governor, where he made public his decamping from the PDP to the APC.
KADUNA:
Why LP won’t align with PDP in Kaduna
The Kaduna State chapter of the LP has indicated that its governorship candidate, Jonathan Asake would not step down for his PDP counterpart, Isa Ashiru Kudan as speculated.
While addressing a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, the Coordinator of the LP Presidential Council in the state, Malachiy Gwatiyap said Asake would contest in the election because his chances are bright in the contest.
He said: “It has come to our notice that some groups of desperate politicians in the PDP who are due for retirement but are bent on clinching power at all cost are into a campaign of calumny against the LP. They have used false propaganda against our candidate, Jonathan Asake and it failed; they have deceived some Christian