Posted by By OLA AGBAJE on
Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday alerted the people of the state on an alleged plan by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, to instigate violence in the state under the guise of protesting the electoral victory of Action Congress candidate, Babatunde Fashola (SAN).
• Pedro, Obanikoro refute claims
Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday alerted the people of the state on an alleged plan by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, to instigate violence in the state under the guise of protesting the electoral victory of Action Congress candidate, Babatunde Fashola (SAN).
Speaking at a press briefing in his Alausa office Monday, Tinubu said he had uncovered the plan to foment trouble in the state, while he accused his Deputy, Femi Pedro, who contested the election under Labour Party (LP) of betraying the trust reposed in him by Lagosians.
However, in a swift reaction to the allegation, both Obanikoro and Pedro absolved themselves of any wrongdoings or participating in any plot that may cause crisis in the state.
According to Obanikoro, 'Tinubu and AC are afraid of their own shadows. I am a peace loving Lagosian who can't inflict violence on any state. They know the figures returned are not fine. I'm not even in town not to talk of fomenting trouble," he said.
On his part, the state Deputy Governor and gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party (LP), Femi Pedro, absolved himself of any wrongdoing or any act of betrayal as alleged by the governor.
According to a statement signed by Pedro, he insisted that it is within his democratic right to point out suspected irregularities and malpractices in the election he participated as a candidate.
Consequently, he stated that he has the democratic right to seek redress where applicable as a matter of principle, justice and equity.
According to Tinubu, the PDP candidate has started 'arming criminals with dangerous weapons to be used against the people of the state."
As a precautionary measure, the governor advised those to be used to shun any invitation to cause chaos while calling on members of the public to report all suspicious movements in their neighborhoods to security agents who had already been alerted.
According to him, the planned violence was being orchestrated with the intention to create a semblance of spontaneous violent reaction that has greeted election results in other states.
The governor said that he has been restraining the Action Congress supporters from engaging PDP in any confrontation in order to avoid creating negative impression about the state in the presence of foreign observers who have come to monitor the election while noting that it is not in the character of Lagosians to play politics of bitterness.
The governor also berated Obanikoro for dragging his mother's name, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, into political fray by accusing her of aiding election rigging.
He accused Pedro of committing treason against the people of the state by ganging up with disgruntled elements to cause crisis.
The governor described Pedro as 'a betrayer of the trust of the people of Lagos" who elected him with the governor in 2003 by allegedly collaborating with the National Deputy Chairman of PDP, Chief Bode George, to cause crisis in the state.