By Emmanuel Ufot
Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state and national leader, All Progressive Congress, APC, is not a happy man. Tinubu source of the unhappiness is the penetration of Atiku Abubakar a former Vice President and defeated Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, on Saturday, February 23, 2019 election in the southwest geo-political region regarded as a stronghold of the APC in past elections in the country.
Atiku, the PDP, Candidate clearly had won Buhari, the APC Candidate in Ondo, Oyo and Ondo states. The APC Candidate also scored 0ver the mandatory 25 percent of the total votes cast in Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Lagos states. Tinubu, the godfather of the southwest politics is much worried that the mass mobilisation of APC voters and the huge deployment of money to woo the willing electorates to vote for the APC candidate president Muhammadu Buhari it never reflected in the last Presidential and National Assembly election.
Take for instance out of a total 6.5million PVC’s collected by potential registered voters in Lagos alone, for these year’s general elections which include the Presidential and National Assembly elections, APC could only garner a little over 500,000 votes but Atiku polled over 400,000 votes a difference of about 100,000 votes going by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, records.
The result in the thinking of Tinubu and his foot soldiers did not measure up with the work done to deliver south west, particular Lagos state votes for Buhari. Some of the strategies APC had adopted as a mechanism to win the state, according political watchers included massive vote buying during the election day and disruption of election in alleged PDP strongholds in the state.
The Value News findings revealed that conscripted electorates mostly from the Yoruba extraction who were brain washed to vote for APC candidates were paid between N3000 and N5000 while canvassers and party agents collected between N10,000 and N15,000. Apart from vote buying, another strategy allegedly adopted by the party was deployment of thugs to disrupt elections in areas dominated by non yorubas, mostly from the South-East and South- South believed to be sympathetic to the PDP.
They were said to have fought anti-APC voters to disrupt the elections in places like Amuwo
Many believe that both not for the disruption
of election and snatching of ballot boxes
by alleged APC thugs against the Presidential
directive that security operatives
should deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers, Atiku may have Buhari in
Lagos, fueling speculation that the governorship and state Assemblies election
may go either way: APC or PDP.
it was gathered that Tinubu, popular Jagaban, has given a marching order to APC
stakeholders to deliver Lagos to Sanwoolu, the APC governorship Candidate on
Saturday, March 9, 2019 and also ensure that the State Assembly Candidates were
voted in all the Constituencies to lighten work load of the state governor.
Given Tinubu’s plot to ensure that APC
There are fears that Ibo traders at Oshodi, Ladipo and Alaba, may not really vote for governorship or State Assembly Candidate of their choice in the forthcoming election because of the fear of being killed by thugs and hoodlums who have in the past one week being under threat to vote for APC or be ready to face the consequences after the
This alleged threats to the traders by the thugs may have prompted Mu’azu Zuberu, the Lagos state Commissioner of Police to advise those threatening fire and brimestone to people from other non Yoruba tribes to refrain from their evil plot or the full wrath of the law would be visited upon them.
Zuberu, the Police Commissioner, however, have assured” non Yorubas in Lagos of police protection” pleading with them to go out and exercise their franchise without any fear on Saturday, March 9, 2019. the Lagos state police boss assurance,may have emboldened the non Yorubas in Lagos to have vowed that they would mobilise their people more than before to go out and vote for the candidate of their choice not minding the intimidation of the APC thugs.
This same scenario had played out in 2015 when prior to the election, the Oba of Lagos Rilwanu Akiolu was quoted as saying that the Ibos would be drowned in the lagoon if they do not support APC candidates in the election.
Bode 0labode George, a PDP chieftain in lagos state has frowned at the on- going intimidation and molestation of Ibos and people from the Niger Delta by hoodlums and thugs acting for APC’s interest in the state
The PDP Chieftain described as he action as shameful, stressing that such threats should be condemned by right thinking Nigerians. He noted the threat was a sad reminder of the events of 1960s which led to the eruption of crisis in south west.
Concerned lagosians and political observers have called on the Heads of the security agencies in the country , particular, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, acting Inspector General of police to deploy adequate mobile policemen to areas populated by non-Yorubas ahead of the Saturday Election and around polling units in the state to forestall violence and disruption of the election like what happened during the presidential and national assembly election.
Indeed for political pundits the air of trouble blowing around the APC emanates from the pre- election permutations which had placed Jimi Agbaje, the PDP in a favourable position to make a statement this time around. The pharmacist turned politician appears to have some factors working in his favour. He is sure of the non-indigenes votes and protest votes from aggrieved supporters of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who were not happy that he was denied a second term bid by Tinubu, the godfather.
The elites and those not happy with the way the APC national leader
