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Tag: APC

  • APC, LP accuse INEC of conniving with PDP to rig

    There was confusion in Okpara Inland, Ethiope East LGA as official of agents of the LP and APC accused INEC official of conniving with the PDP to rig the election.

    Trouble broke when aggrieved parties’ agents blocked the entrance to the collation centre in Okpara Ward, insisting that the INEC Supervisor, Mr. John Timi must produce result sheets before commencement of the exercise. They said all materials got to the Ward 4 centre and wondered why result sheets were ‘missing.’

    Timi, who was contacted by our reporter, declined to comment, but Hon Sylvester Avworo and Willie Telegraph of LP and APC insisted that there was foul play. But there counterpart in PDP said the opposition agents were troublemakers.

  • APC cries out over violence, voting disruptions in Lagos, Rivers, Ondo

    APC cries out over violence, voting disruptions in Lagos, Rivers, Ondo

    The All Progressives Congress on Saturday alerted the security agencies to cases of violence and disruption of voting in several areas of Lagos, Rivers and Ondo states, urging them to swing into action to ameliorate the situation.

    In a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said in many parts of Lagos, thugs are on rampage, shooting sporadically to scare away voters and carting away voting materials.

    It said the development confirmed earlier statements that some parties had been engaging in gun running in Lagos, with a view to arming thugs to disrupt the polls.

    Some of the cases are listed as follows:

    – Armed thugs attack in Abule Okuta area of Bariga LCDA. Their sporadic shootings have disrupted the accreditation exercise in the area as INEC officials, voters and residents scamper for safety.

    – Thugs harassing and intimidating APC agents, and INEC officials are refusing to show result sheets to APC agents who demand such. There are fears that those results sheets may have been handed over to some individuals.

    – Agents of the opposition storm Polling Units in Apapa Ward A Unit 009 with persons who do not belong to the Polling Units and they were accredited

    – OPC thugs under police protection attacking voters and INEC officials all over Lagos.

    – No Electoral Officers in PUs in Ogudu, a known APC stronghold.

    – Police in Iyana Ipaja arresting intending voters holding PVCs and locking them up in police stations, thus preventing their accreditation

    – Electoral materials hijacked in many Polling Units in Ibeju Lekki. PDP thugs waylay INEC officials, vowed to kill them if they come to the PUs.

    – Ballot boxes snatched in three Polling Units in Eti-Osa LG

    – Shortage of Card Readers in many Polling Units in Ikorodu.

     

    RIVERS

    – Over 50 soldiers have been posted to Nyesom Wike’s residence in Old GRA area of Port Harcourt. The troops have been harassing people in the area.

    – Home of Commissioner for Women Affairs in Rivers State, Joeba West, set ablaze in Buguma.

    – INEC registration area centre in Kalabari National College in Buguma also set ablaze

    – Police patrol vehicle also burnt in Buguma by suspected thugs.

     

  • APC tells members to ignore directive as police impose curfew on Adamawa

    APC tells members to ignore directive as police impose curfew on Adamawa

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has directed its members and supporters in Adamawa State to defy the curfew imposed by the state police command, dismissing  it as unlawful.

    The curfew, announced yesterday by the State Police Commissioner Gabriel Adaji, is supposed to come into effect from tomorrow and run till Tuesday.

    APC  National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,  said last night that  there was no threat to security in the state to warrant the imposition of curfew.

     The party  said  the  last Presidential and National Assembly elections were held without incident or declaration of curfew, wondering what warranted the unlawful curfew declaration.

     ”Imposing an unlawful curfew with effect from when voting ends today is suspect and unacceptable. We are therefore asking all our members and supporters to ignore the curfew, come out en masse to vote and also stay back to defend their votes,” APC said.

     Adaji at a press conference in Yola earlier in the day had said the 6pm-6am stay at home  is  to forestall a breakdown of law and order, following  today’s  governorship/state assembly elections.

     According to him, celebration of any kind by the parties arising from the outcome of the elections would not be allowed during the curfew.

     But the political parties are not taking kindly to  the police action.

    They said it is wrong of the police to impose  curfew  when the  collation of results would still be in progress.

     Explaining the police action, Adaji said: “After the last presidential and National Assembly elections, we had some nasty and ugly experiences in the state, hence the present measures.”

     The police boss also said that  tricycles,wheel barrows ,and similar moveable objects used or hawking would not be allowed  to operate during the same period.

    He warned that violators would be duly punished.

     Reacting to the police action, the  State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC),Ahmed Lawal, said there was no reason for the curfew once the elections are free and fair.

    Lawal asked the police to  review the matter in the interest of all parties involved in the election.

    Also reacting, Mr. Sunday Wugira, Director General of the Campaign Organization of the People’s Democratic Movement  (PDM), said  that the party is yet to understand the rationale behind the imposition of the curfew while the  Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. A. T. Shehu, said the curfew was unwarranted.

  • Ondo APC opens situation office for assembly poll

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has opened a situation room for the purpose of monitoring today’s House of Assembly election in the state.

    A statement issued in Akure by the Secretary of the Media Committee of the APC, Charles Titiloye, directed members and the general public to call the following hotline of the situation room to report events in their polling units and collation centres as they relates to the said election.

    Besides, it said: “You can also share pictures taken during the election with us for adequate media coverage with these numbers: 08134529554, 08174160170.”

    The party called on APC supporters to troop out en masse and vote on Saturday

  • Governorship polls: APC, PDP in epic battle

    Governorship polls: APC, PDP in epic battle

    • APC tipped to win in North, South West

    • PDP may clinch Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Ebonyi

    • Fierce contest in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Nassarawa

    With the mass defection of prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last one week,the APC  is being tipped  to win the majority of governorship   seats in today’s   elections.

    Twenty nine gubernatorial tickets are to be contested.

    These are:Abia,Akwa Ibom,Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue,Borno,Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo,Jigawa, Kaduna , Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto,Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

    There will be no  governorship election in Anambra,Bayelsa,Edo,Ekiti,Kogi,Ondo and Osun States.

    The APC is favoured to consolidate on its  March 28 presidential /National Assembly elections triumph  by sweeping the gubernatorial polls in the Northeast,Northcentral,Northwest and the Southwest today .

    It is also expected to put up a strong fight in states like Rivers,Akwa Ibom,Plateau and Nasarawa  where it accused the PDP of manipulating security agents and electoral officers the last time around to record victory.

    Reports by our correspondents from across the states suggest that the PDP may win the governorship seats in Cross River,Delta,Enugu and Ebonyi.

    The gale of defections is a fallout of the election of APC’s General Muhammadu Buhari to run the country’s affairs for the next four years from May 29.

    The National Chairman of the PDP, Mallam Adamu Mu’azu, is optimistic that his party is still capable of pulling through a miracle today.

    He said last weekend that PDP’s target is to win 24 governorship  seats today, including those of Lagos, Rivers and Imo.

    Buhari’s victory may  have a bandwagon effect in states like Nasarawa,Taraba and Plateau where the result of the presidential contest was close.

    The impact  is also expected to tell in Akwa Ibom,Imo and Rivers States.

    The APC strongly disputed  the votes it garnered in those states in the presidential election on the grounds that some key INEC officials and security agents were compromised by the PDP to manipulate the results.

    The police have  since re-ordered their security plan in all the states to ensure free and fair elections today.

    For instance, more policemen have been deployed in some of the states and while Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) have been posted to the states to co-ordinate secutiry.

    Many voters in the Southeast  and Southsouth where President Goodluck Jonathan hails from are  increasingly considering whether they want to be in  opposition to the central government and this may persuade some to vote for the APC.

    Other factors that are going to influence the pattern of voting are: strong party affiliation, ethno-religious configuration, the personality of the candidates; zoning / power shift syndrome and probable voters’ apathy.

    In the Southwest states of Lagos,Ogun and Oyo, the gubernatorial contests would be determined largely by local issues and personalities, although   the Buhari factor could come into play as the people of the region are excited at the prospect of being in the same boat as the party that controls the center.

    Voters in  Ondo, Ekiti and Osun  will only choose members of their state assemblies.

    The loss of home boy, President Jonathan, in the March 28 election  is likely to dampen the enthusiasm of his supporters in the Southsouth states of Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Delta.

    Some of them are already wondering what life in opposition could be having strongly supported the central government in the last 16 years.

    There will be only state assembly elections in Edo and Bayelsa.

    The Southeast,  which voted overwhelmingly for the PDP and President Jonathan in the presidential/national elections  just like the Southsouth, may also  be persuaded to have a rethink today, especially in Imo and Abia states.

    The Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Ralph Obioha, in a statement asked voters in the two states to throw in their lot with APC so that the Igbo might have a voice in the incoming central government.

    The APC candidates  are expected to do well across the North.

    An example is Borno State  where the proclamation of Gambo Lawan as the PDP governorship candidate by the Federal High Court, Abuja, has thrown the party into a  disarray. The major loser in this is  a former governor of the  State, Senator  Modu Ali Sheriff, whose  plan to install his godson has hit the rocks. The development has forced many PDP members to stand aloof and watch how Lawan will weather the storm.

    This has left Lawan going into the governorship election as a political orphan. It remains to be seen what percentage of the 473, 543 votes recorded by APC two weeks ago  in Borno State against PDP’s  25,640 votes he can win.

    The situation is not too different in neighbouring Yobe  where APC  got 446, 265 votes in the presidential poll as  against  PDP’s 25, 526.

    Ex-Minister Adamu Maina Waziri does not seem to stand any chance against  Governor Ibrahim Gaidam who is seeking re-election on the platform of the APC.

    The APC, by all calculations ,appears comfortable in Katsina, home state of President-elect Buhari, Kaduna, home state of Vice President Namadi Sambo and Kano, which returned the largest votes of 1, 903,999  for Buhari.

    APC chieftains see Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi and Sokoto States as strongholds of the party and  are not entertaining any fear about losing there.

    Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido acknowledged after the presidential election  that the PDP was rejected at the polls on March 28 by Nigerians and that “there is a tendency for bandwagon effect.”

    But he was quick to add that “it is up to us to work very hard.”

  • How PDP plans to rig Lagos election, by APC

    How PDP plans to rig Lagos election, by APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has offered more facts on its allegations that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was making desperate plans to rig Saturday’s governorship and state assembly polls in Lagos.
    In a statement issued earlier on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed the APC alleged that PDP had flown some result sheets from Abuja to Lagos in addition the President Goodluck Jonathan flying into Lagos on Thursday to allegedly personally oversee the rigging plans.
    On Friday evening, APC spokesman addressed a press conference during which he provided details on the alleged PDP rigging plans.
    According to Mohammed, the PDP is engaged in gun running ahead of the polls and distribution of fake result sheets
    President has also allegedly brought a war chest of 10 billion Naira to Lagos specifically for the Lagos elections while AIG Mbu Joseph Mbu has seized control of the Lagos command from Police Commissioner Kayode Aderanti for the elections.
    Mohammed also said there is a plan to arrest, harass and intimidate key leaders of the APC.

    Full text of the allegations follows:

    GUN RUNNING AND FAKE RESULT SHEETS
    The PDP is ready to storm polling units in areas where the APC is strong either to disrupt voting by attacking voters or simply carry away voting materials.

    We have it on good authority that the PDP point man has been driving around designated pick-up points to drop fake NYSC and military uniforms, guns and cash. In a clandestine and brazen operation in Lagos, this point man and his team have also added the distribution of fake result sheets to PDP agents.

    At a popular Maryland Vendor stand, which is one of the muster points for the PDP thugs, 3 big bags containing NYSC Polo shirts, as well as fake Police and Army uniforms, were handed over to some PDP thugs by the agents Then at 5:30 AM this morning, at exactly the same location, the Vendor stand in Maryland close to Mobil Filing station, two white Hilux trucks pulled up and dropped 60 medium size rectangular cartons.
    On hand were the same men who collected the bags of fake NYSC t-shirts some days back. Their conversation, which took place in Yoruba langage, revealed a lot. The four men asked from the person delivering the cartons “owo nko” (where is the money). The man in the car said both the money and the guns were inside the box. He also explained to the four men that later in the evening of today, Friday, the four men should return to the same point to collect fake result sheets from Baju Laiye (the hub of printing in Lagos) that will be wrapped up in newspapers and delivered just like the way newspapers are delivered.

    The men who collected the guns, fake uniforms and result sheets are those designated to storm polling units to tomorrow. They will also instigate violence across the state, with a view to scaring away voters, especially in APC strongholds.

    The PDP has turned Saturday’s elections into a do-or-die affair. The plan is to use thugs and militants who have also been imported into the state to intimidate voters, snatch ballot boxes and provide cover for the PDP to announce false results tomorrow. Fake ballot papers as well as results sheets are already being issued to the PDP.

    10 BLLION NAIRA WAR CHEST
    As we said in our Press Release earlier today, the President flew into Lagos on Thursday expressly to oversee the PDP’s rigging plans. He met with his point men: Musiliu Obanikoro, Jimi Agbaje and Gani Adams, apparently to hand over the war chest to them.

    It is interesting that despite their failure, in view of the dollar rain that fell on the South-west, to capture the region, they have not relented in wasting public funds to swing the outcome of elections.

    Nigerians have shown that they cannot be swayed by bribery. If money were to be the determining factor, the PDP would not have lost the presidential elections. Just as they failed on March 28th, they will fail again tomorrow
    As I said earlier, The President was in Lagos yesterday and held a night time meeting with top PDP chieftains in the presence of AIG Zone 2, Joseph Mbu. The meeting discussed and perfected plans to rig tomorrow’s governorship election in Lagos state.

    The PDP chieftains complained that the CP in Lagos was not cooperating with them and was a hindrance to their rigging plans. It was therefore decided to sideline the CP, Kayode ADERANTI and illegally draft in the AIG to take charge of the elections in Lagos. It was claimed that the CP refused to cooperate in allowing the announcement of fake results in the presidential election.

    Acting on Jonathan’s directive, Mbu stormed the Lagos police HQ today and took over the CP’s office, claiming he is now in charge of the election in Lagos. Meanwhile, the IG of police, Suleiman Abba, had posted the DIG in charge of training in Abuja, Mr Argungu, to oversee the election in Lagos. Mbu had been posted to take charge of affairs in Ogun state. The President by his directive has overridden the directives of the IG without his knowledge.

    The CP, Mr Kayode Adearanti, has resisted the rigging attempt and insisted that due process must be adhered to constitutionally. In the same way, the REC, just as he did during the presidential election, is also insisting on free and fair elections in Lagos. The PDP is attempting to use Mbu and the GOC – who is Jonathan’s relation – to force a false result on the REC.

    PLAN TO ARREST, HARASS AND INTIMIDATE KEY APC LEADERS
    Key leaders of our party, the APC, have been targeted for arrest, harassment and intimidation as part of measures to destabilize the party on election day.
    Key point men have been designated to invade the residences of the leaders starting from this evening.

    CONCLUSION
    Having milked its cash cow to death on March 28th, the PDP has decided that it would grab new cash cows. Such cash cows are economically-viable states like Lagos and oil producing states like Rivers.

    The PDP has vowed not to lose any of such states, hence the desperate acts we have enumerated above. They do not care about the votes of the people, and are not interested in counting votes or making them count. All they want is to capture any state that catches their fancy.

    Again, we urge our members and supporters not to be intimidated. We urge them to be extra vigilant and to document all cases of voter harassment and intimidation as well as election malfeasance.

    We also call on local and international observers to pay a very close attention to the conduct of the elections in Lagos and River states, and on INEC not to allow itself to be used.

     

  • APC chieftain dispels rumour of Atiku’s defection to PDP

    APC chieftain dispels rumour of Atiku’s defection to PDP

    A stalwart of the All Progressives Congress, Deacon Elijah Afolabi‎, has dispelled the rumour that the former Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, is planning to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Speaking with reporters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Afolabi, who is an ally of Atiku for more than fifteen years‎, said that it was unthinkable for any some group to carry out a smear campaign against Turakin Adamawa and doubt his loyalty to APC inspite of his commitment to the party.

    According to him: “The Turakin personally sent me a text message, distancing himself from the group that was said to have decamped to the PDP in the South West led by Chief Bode Ajewole and his rented crowd with the Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, and his executive in attendance. He clearly told me they did not have his mandate to do so.

    “Another group of so called 120 Atiku Supporters also exploited the desperation of the PDP to swindle them, using the name of Atiku Abubakar which he also openly dissociated himself from. It must be realized that Atiku is a foundation pillar of the APC, when he led the G-7 Governor’s and other stakeholders out of the stage-managed PDP convention in Abuja.

    “Atiku’s commitment to change as epitomised by the APC is not only visible but deep-rooted. Even overtures were severally made to him by the PDP from the highest level but he stood his ground, deciding to pitch his tent with the wind of change that is blowing across the political landscape of Nigeria.

    “His political enemies went to town, claiming that Turakin is championing the cause of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the governorship candidate of the PDP in Adamawa State, what can be further from the truth? It is obvious that some elements outside the APC are up to some mischief. Atiku is a giant of democracy, who can never be dwarfed by elements with sinister motives.”

    He maintained that the former vice president has demonstrated his unflinching loyalty and commitment to the APC in every possible way‎ physically, morally and financially.

    Afolabi, who noted that Atiku has openly discountenanced those‎ against the APC but using his name, said that Turakin stood for democracy, good governance, social justice, equity and all that the APC stands for.

  • Ex-Commissioner returns to APC from PDP

    A former Commissioner in Edo State who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in December 2014, Dennis Idahosa has apologized for his wrong decision in betraying the trust and confidence reposed in him by the state.
    Idahosa made the appeal on Friday in Government House when he formally returned to the All Progressive Congress (APC) fold with his supporters.
    Addressing the Governor at the ceremony, Idahosa said, “I was a Commissioner in Edo State under Comrade Oshiomhole. I resigned and I made mistakes, I went to PDP, now I am back home. On behalf of my Local Government, I want to say sorry for my wrong actions and I believe that God knows the best.
    “I am back to the family of APC and I will do my best for every other task that is ahead and I will do all my best to be faithful to this party. To some of my colleagues that I see here, I am saying sorry for letting you down and I am going to do more to make sure that everyone is proud of me.”
    Receiving the former Commissioner and his supporters on behalf of the Party Chairman, Barrister Anselm Ojezua, Oshiomhole said “let me assure you that the event of last week, of March 28th has redefined the future of our youths in fundamental ways.
    ” Buhari Government will move away from politics of tokenism, celebrating token skills to one that would radically transform our country from being a country notorious for consuming what it doesn’t produce and exporting without adding value to what it produces. That way the economy will grow and that growth will be job led growth and many of our young people will have jobs to do.”
    He added, “For the political class, those changes in Abuja have had profound implication for all of us. Like I said somewhere during the week, by June 29, certainly not later than June 30th, by the time all Federal Boards, Commissions, Parastatals and Agencies are dissolved, almost a million vacancies will arise in Abuja and Edo State will fill its own shares of those vacancies.
    “Unlike the other party, we will ensure that opportunities are given to everybody and these will be fairly distributed across the state so we will have something to take care of our younger ones who look up to us for empowerment. Even the SURE-P that became an instrument of blackmail; if you support me, you collect a letter for SURE-P and you will get J-Alert, now all of that is now SURE-APC.”
    Oshiomhole said, “Unlike the way it was done before, if I am happy with you I give you job the day I am not happy, I withdraw, General Buhari Government will approach job creation in an institutional way, not based on tokenism or individual”.
    Governor Oshiomhole however eulogized the humility of the former Commissioner in realizing his mistakes and taking bold steps to correct them by returning to his own home, the APC.
    According to him, “I am very delighted to welcome you back because you have shown uncommon humility. There are people who make mistakes and rather than own up to those mistakes they rather seek to defend those mistakes or to perpetrate it because of issues of ego. Only God can make no mistake.
    “I fully understand the circumstances and I was actually touched when you called me after you have left to tell me you regretted your actions just barely 22hours later so that for me is something to be admired. A lot of us when we make errors of judgment tend to continue with it so as not to be laughed at by people but forgetting that it is only the one that God laugh at that can complain, no man can laugh at another because life is about learning”.

     

  • Why Edo voters should support APC

    The Edo State Liberation Vanguard has called on voters to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in tomorrow’ Governorship and House of Assembly polls.

    An executive of the group, Iradia Osadolor said for the first time in 16 years, there is a new realignment in the political system. For him, it is the first time control would be taken from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He said that in less than two week since this ‘change’ happened and the development has already started affecting the political behaviour of people, as seen in defections.

    “Funny enough, there could be states where the APC might not grow bigger because it is the party at the centre. For peculiar reasons, Edo State might be one of such. In the past eight years, minus a year or so when Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor ruled the state, Edo has played the part of the opposition. For a political system that is as patronising as ours, you do not gain much from belonging to the opposition, except the feeling of being on the side of the people,” he said in a report.

    Osadolor said that as an individual player on the opposition turf, one might only lose personal benefits. He said that but for a state, such stand could lead to lack of attention and denial of basic amenities, adding that projects, at state and federal levels, are allocated on the basis of political consideration rather than need.

  • ‘APC will retain Lagos’

    ‘APC will retain Lagos’

    Alhaji Lateef Raji is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State. In this interview with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN, he explains why the party will win the governorship and the House of Assembly polls.  

    What is responsible for the low turnout of voters in Lagos during the presidential election?

    A lot of things were responsible. Many voters were discouraged by the mal-functioning of the card readers. Lagosians are impatient. After staying on queue for several hours, they were disappointed that they could not be accredited by the card readers. So, many of them returned home in annoyance.  There was also issue of violence that preceded the election in Lagos. Hell was let loose before the election as hoodlums sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) invaded All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rallies.  There were gunshots everywhere in Lagos the day preceding election. All these scared people from coming out to vote. On the day of election, the police turned back APC agents in some polling booths on flimsy excuse that they did not display party tag. Thousands of voters were not allowed to cast their votes even when the card readers had authenticated their voters’ cards.

    What measures have you put in place to forestall the recurrence of this experience in the governorship election?

    The APC in Lagos State will continue to mobilise the people to come out and vote this Saturday for its governorship and House of Assembly candidates. We hope the electoral umpire — the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) — will do the needful by ensuring that voting materials and electoral officers get to their respective polling units on time. INEC should tell security agents that it is not their responsibility to turn back party agents. Where the voter’s cards are accepted by the card reader, the voters should be allowed to vote. INEC officials should not be stumbling blocks in the accreditation process.

    Is it true that Nigerians from the Southsouth and the Southeast zones worked against the APC during the presidential election?

    There are allegations that they did. But, we don’t want to believe that it was the only reason why the margin was slim. We understand that their decision was informed by religious and ethnic consideration. I implore them to vote for the ruling party in Lagos where they earn their living, so that they will continue to benefit from the government that is providing them infrastructure to make life worth living.  They should be more concerned with the place where they are living and earning their living. They are largely accommodated in Lagos, they are part and parcel of the Lagos community.

    Nevertheless, over confidence contributed to the result. A lot of our people did not come out to vote on March 28. The expectation was that the APC would deliver at least two million votes during the presidential election. In any case, the party’s leadership in the state have gone back to the drawing board to address the lapses.

    Are you confident that the APC will win the governorship and House of Assembly elections?

    Oh yes, APC will come out victorious on Saturday. Our governorship candidate will win with landslide. We will win all the 40 seats in the House of Assembly. The presidential election is quite different from the governorship. The result of presidential election cannot demoralise us. Rather, it has galvanised us into working for landslide victory on Saturday. The APC is endowed with a strong fighting spirit. Remember in 2011, Governor Babatunde Fashola, the APC candidate, polled  1.3 million votes as against the PDP candidate who came a distanced second with 300,000 votes.

    We under-estimated the desperation of the PDP; the over confident was our undoing. They have shown their hands, we will amputate them. We will not allow the PDP to destroy the state we have built to the envy of the whole world since 1999 without Federal Government support. Now that the progressives have won at the centre, Lagos will for the first time be in tune with the Federal Government. The PDP can’t take over Lagos.

    Lagos was the epicentre of the struggle for nationalism. Since then Lagos has not enjoyed federal presence. The formation of the APC started in Lagos. We will not allow the PDP to reap where they did not sew; we will not allow them to come and destroy what we built in Lagos. We will fight and put in everything we have to ensure we enjoy the patronage of the Federal Government for the first time.

    Some say Jimi Agbaje is the selling point of the PDP in Lagos State. Do you agree?

    Agbaje lacks capacity to rule a complex state like Lagos. Where does he want to start from? Can he cope with the problem of flood? Ask him the number of teachers in Lagos public schools, he can’t tell you. He has no track record of public service. Agbaje lacks cognate experience in public administration. That was why he didn’t get our party’s ticket in 2007. People are not just thrown into office.

    He has not come up with new ideas in his campaigns rather he has been repeating APC promises. His pharmacy shop remains what it was 30 years ago. We can’t entrust the administration of Lagos to someone lacking public administration experience. We have mirrored his private life to determine what he will offer us in public service. The problems of Lagos will overwhelm him. By the time when receives 200 phone calls ??? a day, he will capitulate.