The Peoples Democratic Party’s House of Assembly and governorship elections in Lagos State on Saturday have been dubbed a national embarrassment by Chief Bode George, a former deputy national chairman of the party.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the current governor and a member of the All Progressives Congress, was up for reelection. The Peoples Democratic Party’s Olajide Adediran and the Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour also competed for the position.
The LP candidate was in second place at the time this report was filed, and Sanwo-Olu was in the lead with a sizable margin.
In response, George said in a statement that he personally signed on Sunday, “On February 25, troops were visible on the road and there was politeness. Thugs performed flawlessly. Complete calm prevailed. Thus, who gave the order to remove the military from the area during the governorship and House of Assembly elections? Was their departure instructed to allow thieves to have a field day stealing and destroying ballots and papers?
When will we treat constitutional democracy with civility? We used to be proud of Lagos, but not anymore. This election is a complete embarrassment to both Nigeria and the APC as a party. Several prospective voters fled home in rage without casting a ballot because of threats made by thugs. We saw footage of vote boxes and election papers being stolen by APC thugs in multiple voting booths. Also burned were the ballot boxes and documents.
The LP candidate, who received George’s endorsement, also expressed her displeasure with the results on Sunday, claiming they didn’t accurately reflect voter preferences.
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Gbadebo stated in a tweet on Sunday, “I am pained by the confirmed reports of violence and the heinous disenfranchisement of voters who merely sought to carry out their civic duty.
Attacks on voting locations, people who have cast ballots, and party officials are completely at odds with our values and what Lagos stands for.
“Collusion between the ruling party and election authorities to reinstate the APC’s candidate is a smack in the face to democracy and everyone who turned out to support us on Saturday.
Given this, I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that the results being announced by INEC do not reflect the preferences of the vast majority of peaceful Lagosians.
And we won this election, according to the information provided by our field agents and situation room. For the people, I stand up. We’re still not finished. Be hopeful and unwavering.
“This is still ongoing; we haven’t gone this far to tolerate flagrant lies, criminal activity, and falsehoods. It’s never simple to win a battle for freedom.
“Each and every vote cast in favour of me was done so under threat of harm to one’s person. Each of these votes must be taken into account. It is a holy obligation to defend every single one of their ballots. Every LP voter has my word that I will defend their ballots.
