No candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State is permitted to travel out of the country before next year’s general election, party chairman Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi has announced.
He said the party would not also underrate other opposition parties in the state, urging the party faithful to gird their loins.
Ojelabi spoke during the inauguration of the Tinubu-Hamzat Campaign Council at the party secretariat on Acme Road, Ogba, Ikeja, where he charged the committee members to show dedication and commitment.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is the chairman of the Advisory Committee of the elaborate committe. Former Defence Minister of State Senator Musiliu Obanikoro is the Director-General.
The deputy governor and governorship candidate, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, who justified President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid, said he has lived to expectation in the last three years.
Former Deputy Governor Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, who spoke on behalf of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) leader, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, said Lagos APC has a competent governorship candidate in Hamzat, urging Lagosians to vote for him.
“We have the sign of victory ahead of the poll. The next governor is very competent. He served in various capacities. He is a man of great character. He will not disappoint Lagosians. We have to work properly and cooperatively to achieve victory,” Ogunleye stressed.
At the ceremony were Senators Wasiu Eshiloku (Lagos Central), Dr. Idiat Adebule (West) and Tokunbo Abiru (East), House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, his deputy, Monisola Meranda; Dr. Yomi Finnih, former Finance Minister Wale Edun, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, Asipa Kaoli Olusanya, Hon. Bamigbose, Mrs. Yinka Olusanya, Olawale Oshun, Cardinal James Odunmbaku, Babatunde Ishiak, Dr. Tola Kasali, Bode Oyedele, Funso Ologunde, Lanre Ogunyemi, Fokasade Abimbola Salu, Sesan Daini and Seye Oladejo, the party’s publicity secretary.
Ojelabi said party members have resolved to work together after the hostility of primaries, adding that the opposition is disappointed by the unity and brotherhood of the ruling party.
He said the campaign committees have been carefully constituted to deliver victory for the candidates at the polls.
The chairman said the flag bearer are men of capacity and candour who will cooperate with the committees in the local mobilisation of voters.
Ojelabi, who said Lagos APC would be targeting five million votes, warned against complacency, saying that opposition parties cannot be taken for granted.
He said: “No candidate is allowed to travel outside the country until after the general election.”
Ojelsbi added: “Let our campaign be devoid of hatred, thuggery and violence.”
Obanikoro said 2027 elections demand discipline, commitment and organisation, adding that no party member should treat it as a simple assignment.
He advised party members to put personal grievances and disappointments behind them, adding that they should work as a team, speak with responsibility and prosecute the campaign legally.
Obanikoro added: “Unity must be our strength.”
Hamzat said “we don’t want jesters as president, a man who does not know the difference between a loan and borrowing. It is not about emotion; it is about data, about record.”
The deputy governor said party members should campaign confidently because the government midwived by APC has performed.
Hamzat said Lagos under the APC is the first sub-national unit to have successfully built a rail infrastructure; a feat that eluded Carlifornia in the United States.
Describing Lagos as a unique state, he said:”33 percent of GDP of Nigeria is from Lagos. Our state is too important to be subjected to trial and error in the hands of those who are struggling to understand the geography and people of Lagos.”
Hamzat said out of the 7.3 million that registered to vote in Lagos, APC should attract between three and four million votes.
Justifying President Tinubu’s second term bid, he said:”The president has stabilised the economy of Nigeria for the first time. We have £7.9 billion trade surplus with America. It will keep going like that. It is due to agric and uria. Lekki Trade Zone is playing a role.
Hamzat frowned at the opposition’s criticisms of the infrastructure battle, particularly the coastal roads, saying that they are not serious.
Hamzat praised the president for the renovation of the airports, saying that it is creating millions of jobs.
“For the first time, we are fighting terrorism and prosecuting kidnappers. The image of Nigeria is better in the international community. He has done fundamental things: tax reforms. The last was the withholding tax of 1938.
“We must go out to vote, call our friends and neighbours to vote for APC. On June 16, we should vote for the president, our senatorial and 24 House of Representatives candidates. We should also ensure that our 40 House of Assembly candidates win.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
