The
leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Chief Bode George, has
berated the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, for allegedly threatening Igbo
people to vote for the All Progressives Congress governorship
candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, or face death.
George said this at a press conference
in Lagos on Monday which was attended by a former Minister of Works,
Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe; the PDP Chairman in the state, Tunji Shelle;
and other party leaders.
George said it was unfortunate that
Akiolu had openly taken sides with a political party. He urged the
monarch to relinquish his crown and go into partisan politics if he
could not remain neutral.
He said, “The Oba of Lagos is my friend
but we belong to different political parties. I was shell-shocked when I
heard the comments by my friend telling our Igbo brothers – because
they decided who to vote for PDP – that he would curse them to run into
the Lagos lagoon. By the grace of God that will never happen.
“He said he owns Lagos. There is a need to draw a line between who a kabiyesi is and who a governor is. The kabiyesi
is a traditional ruler and father of all. If he wants to play politics
like some of us, he should leave that throne, come out and meet us on
the field.
“We should not denigrate that office and use it as a political platform to deride other parties.”
Also speaking, Ogunlewe said the PDP
decided to give Igbo House of Representatives and House of Assembly
tickets because the party had accepted them as Lagosians.
Ogunlewe said now that three
non-indigenes have won seats in the National Assembly, Igbo in Lagos
would have better representation. He, therefore, urged them not to be
threatened by Akiolu and come out to vote for Jimi Agbaje on Saturday.
A PDP member, Mr. Oghene Egboh, who
recently won the Amuwo Odofin federal constituency election, said many
non-indigenes were being attacked by APC supporters because of their
support for the PDP.
In a separate statement, the Director of
Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi
Fani-Kayode, described as unacceptable the alleged threat by Akiolu.
Fani-Kayode, in a statement issued in
Abuja on Monday, said many of President Goodluck Jonathan’s supporters
in the North received similar threats before the March 28 election.
He, however, urged the APC to call its supporters to order as no party had a monopoly of violence.
He said, “The truth is that we were
threatened with ethnic cleansing and religious carnage in the North had
Gen. Muhammadu Buhari not won the presidential election on March 28 and
had President Goodluck Jonathan not quickly conceded defeat.
“We let that go and kept the peace but
now our traditional supporters are being threatened in Lagos and in many
other states as we approach the April 11 governorship elections.
“Let it be clearly understood by all and
sundry that any attempt to kill, maim or molest our supporters will be
deemed unacceptable and will be met with defiance, contempt and a
well-orchestrated and solid resistance.”
He called on the non-indigenes in Lagos to ignore the monarch and come out en masse to vote for Agbaje on Saturday.
Also, the Catholic Caritas Foundation of
Nigeria has called on Akiolu to withdraw the curse he allegedly placed
on Igbo over Saturday’s governorship election in Lagos State.
The CCFN said the Lagos monarch’s utterances amounted to threat and intimidation.
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“Last Sunday, all honorary Eze Ndigbos
in Lagos paid a courtesy call to Oba Akiolu. At the meeting the visitors
praised the oba for his fatherly support for and cooperation with Igbo
in Lagos. They assured him of their continued good neighbourliness with
other tribes in Lagos and support everything that’ll further strengthen
that harmony.
“The oba thereafter called on the Igbo
chiefs to show appreciation to Lagos State by supporting his candidate,
Mr. Ambode, for continuity of excellence as they had earlier promised.”
The statement added that Akiolu said
whoever works against the interest of Lagos would end up in the lagoon
in line with tradition.
The statement added that the issue of ‘lagoon’ was expressed in proverbial terms.
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