April 7, 2015 – Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu has distanced the APC from comments credited to the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.
The Oba had at a meeting with Indigbo in Lagos ordered the Igbo to vote candidate of the APC, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode for the April 11 general election or die in the Lagoon.
“On Saturday, if any one of you goes against Ambode whom I picked, that is your end. If it doesn’t happen within seven days, just know that I am a bastard and it is not my father who gave birth to me.
“By the grace of God, I am the owner of Lagos for the time being. This is an undivided chair. The palace belongs to the dead and those coming in the future. On Saturday, if anyone of you, I swear in the name of God, goes against my wish that Ambode will be the next governor of Lagos state, the person is going to die inside this water.
“For the Igbos and others in Lagos, they should go where the Oba of Lagos head to. When they were coming to the state, they didn’t come with all their houses. But now they have properties in the state. So they must do my bidding. And that is the bidding of the ancestors of Lagos and God.
“I am not ready to beg you. Nobody knew how I picked Ambode. Jimi is my blood relation and I told him that he can never be governor in Lagos for now. The future belongs to God. I am not begging anybody, but what you people cannot do in Onitsha, Aba or anywhere you cannot do it here.
“If you do what I want, Lagos will continue to be prosperous for you, if you go against my wish, you will perish in the water.”
But Tinubu who was speaking at a rally in Lagos said political authority and monarchy were far apart and blamed the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and Coordinator of Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria(TAN), Mr. Ifeanyi Uba for politicizing the statement.
He said Igbo in Lagos should not visit their annoyance of Oba’s statement on Ambode on Saturday.
He said the issue of discrimination against any tribe does not arise in Lagos and that all residents enjoy benefits of the APC led state government in the last sixteen years.
“We have been paying school fees and WAEC fees of all students from different tribes including the Ibos in Lagos without recourse to where they come from . Have you been collecting the school fees in the Oba of Lagos Palace? ”
He said the Ibos had won the Lagos State Government Spelling Bee Competitions three consecutive times and were given scholarships to study in the best tertiary institutions in the world and offered employments as executive officers in blue chip companies.
He explained that , Ebuka from Anambra State not Oyo State won the spelling bee competition . We didn’t do Iwu against him and turn the vote. We did not discriminate against him, he acted as one day governor . So Ibos cannot say they have not governed Lagos because Ebuka and others acted as governor here. We sent Ebuka to Switzerland for training , to computer school, to OAU, got his degree went back for his Masters on our scholarship . Now Ebuka works for Oando Nigeria Plc as executive Ebuka is in Canada as we speak.”
” We did not just pick Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as our governorship candidate he has the brain, character , integrity and ability to do a good job. When the Federal Government seized our money in Abuja we would have retrenched workers and sack some workers but Ambode said Oga I work with you there is way out of the problem,” he said.
