Akinwunmi Ambode, the Governor of Lagos State has pleaded with the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to have a rethink ahead of the primaries slated for Monday, October 1, 2018. The governor said this during a press conference held on Sunday in Ikeja.
Ambode during a press conference in Alausa, Ikeja, on Sunday, “I plead with our leaders to have a rethink, It is not about me, it is about the opportunity that APC has.”
He also pointed out that his opposition launched smear campaigns against him in the buildup to the primaries, all of which he had ignored. He said, “We have never responded to the campaign of calumny on social media. We have one family in APC. The aspirant being put up to compete against us is not a fit and proper person to take this job,” he said.
He then talked about some of his achievements as governor and how he had spent his term as governor in serving the poor. He said, “I have done everything in the last three and half years to serve people selflessly and to serve the poor.
The Lagos State governor then went on a tangent when he talked about how his rival, Babajide Sanwoolu, was mentally unfit and his criminal history in America. According to him, “This particular aspirant (Sanwoolu) is somebody that has been arrested for spend fake dollars in a nightclub in America, and he has been detained for months. He doesn’t have the competence to do what he is being propelled to do. This is somebody that has gone for rehabilitation before. The records are there at the Gbagada General Hospital. We don’t want to go to far. Our leadership should have a rethink.”
Ambode had in recent times come under intense pressure from his party to step down from contesting the All Progressives Congress’ governorship ticket in Lagos primaries. Already, a potential successor has surfaced in the person of Jide Sanwo-Olu, who rose to prominence after being endorsed by all the state’s 57 local government chairpersons about two weeks ago.
The epic battle, that of incumbent governor of Lagos State Akinwunmi Ambode, and challenger, Babatunde Sanwo-Olu has been set to Monday October 1st, at the behest of the national head office. The National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, who disclosed the shift in date in Abuja, while inaugurating the panel that will oversee the election in 29 states, explained that the shift was due to logistics reason. Also shifted to Monday, is the primary election in Imo State.
Before the postponement, the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) and other major stakeholders of the party were to converge on the party secretariat on Acme Road, Lagos where they were to endorse Sanwo-Olu as their choice candidate. But the meeting was hurriedly dispersed by the thugs claimed to be loyal to Ambode, who thronged the venue.
However, a member of the GAC, Senator Anthony Afuye, told the gathering that there were consultations with relevant stakeholders of the party, which had in attendance Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and was chaired by the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
While confirming the shift announced earlier by Oshiomhole, Afuye said: “The gubernatorial primary has been shifted to Monday, October 1st, and Dr. Obafemi Hamzat has stepped down, and endorsed Sanwo-Olu. The GAC and other major stakeholders have also endorsed Sanwo-Olu.”
As at yesterday morning, spirited attempts were made to save the incumbent from losing the primary, but in spite of all entreaties, and last minutes intervention by stakeholders, all parties involved in the face-off between the governor and Tinubu held onto their positions.
