Benjamin Omoike l Wednesday, October 03, 2018
LAGOS, Nigeria – Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state has congratulated Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his opponent and winner of the All Progressives Congress, APC, primary election which held across the state on Tuesday, stressing that the progress of the state and interest of the party remained paramount, over and above any personal interests.
According to Ambode, in an address on Wednesday, he had remained in the vanguard of ensuring that Lagos made tremendous progress in his time as governor, a state to be reckoned with in the nation.
It will be recalled that the state primary elections were marred in widespread controversy, with allegations in some quarters that some of the governor’s supporters were denied their franchise in some wards. It was also reported that the governor refused to vote in his ward and that the party had not put all necessary modalities in place for the conduct of the elections. This and other perceived anomalies had necessitated the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party to declare the results of the election a nullity, even though the state party chairman had endorsed the results.
However, the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, debunked the allegations of the NWC and corroborated the stand of Clement Ebri, Chairman, Lagos APC Governorship Primary Committee, who stated that after resolving some of the hiccups, the Lagos State APC Governorship Primary Committee collated the results from the 245 Wards in the 20 Local Government Area (LGAs), from the collating officers, and that at the end of the exercise, governor Akinwunmi Ambode scored 72,901, while Babajide Sanwo-Olu recorded 970,851 of the votes cast.
Following these results, therefore, the Chairman of the Lagos State APC Governorship Primary Committee declare Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the winner, endorsed by the the party’s national chairman.
According to Ambode, “Dear Lagosians, APC is a great party and the interests of our beloved state must always supercede that of any person or group. It is in this regard that I wholeheartedly congratulate the winner of the Lagos state APC Primaries, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and urge all Lagosians to immediately support our party’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 elections and work for the success of our dear party.
“The progress of Lagos state is non-negotiable. It is a project that I have passionately worked for in the last three and half years as your governor and one to which I will forever be devoted,” he said.
Governor Ambode stated that the last few days had witnessed intense political activities that had gripped the attention of the nation and created palpable tension in the polity. He said he strongly believed that the time had now come for the state to move forward in order that the gains of the last three and half years were not lost.
He added that, “As governor, I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition in the remaining period of this administration and ultimately to the new governor, come May 2019.
“I therefore appeal to all our party members that we remain one family and unite behind the candidate of the party, so that we can continue to move this state forward.
“I wish to use this opportunity to thank our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the leadership of our great party at state and national levels, all party faithfuls and all Lagosians.”
Ambode thankef all Lagosians for their faith and trust in him, and urged them not to relent in their support for the APC as the party prepares for the General Elections.
