Barely a month to the inauguration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President of the country, Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Sen. Lekan Balogun, has taken a swipe at the proponents of the abortion of the mandate, canvassing for setting up of an interim government, describing such call as undemocratic and irritating.
Oba Balogun spoke at his Alarere, Ibadan residence when the Amalgamated APC Support Groups (AASG) in South-West visited him yesterday to round-off the city-round rally organized by the group to counter those calling for interim government and who were described as anti-democratic elements.
It would be recalled that since the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the Presidential election held on 25th February this year by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), there had been calls for the cancellation of the election from the opposition camp and instead an interim government arrangement be made.
In a press statement made available to journalists in Ibadan by Oladele Ogunsola, the Personal Assistant (Media) to the monarch, Oba Balogun said such call portrayed Nigeria as a country with no respect for democracy, law and order and a place where anything goes which are in truth and fairness not the real definition of “who we are as a people.
“Nigerians generally are decent and orderly people and firm believer in the rule of law. Those few elements calling for interim government are anti-democratic and unpatriotic. I’m a democrat, even if my sworn enemy wins an election, tenets of democracy call for my acceptance of the victory and allow the winner to prove himself either as a bad or good choice.
“Nigerians chose Bola Tinubu and he deserves every right to exercise the mandate given to him. Whether he will do well or not is up to him and we have four years by our constitution to weigh him. So, why the call for cancellation of his election? Such call is undemocratic and irritating to say the least. I have not closely worked with him, but, from what I have seen and read of him, he is a fantastic human being in whom I have no doubt that he will govern us well”, Oba Balogun added.
Earlier, the Director of Community Engagement and Civil Societies Directorate (CECS) of the group and who coordinated the rally, Comrade Amoo Taofeek said the group brought the rally to the monarch to receive his blessings and to let the outside world know that “our Royal fathers in the South-West are on the same page with us in our opposition to the anti-democratic forces ready to plunge the country into another needless crisis.
“We are not too young not to remember the trauma the country was thrown into in 1993 as a result of the criminal annulment of the election won by the late Basorun MKO Abiola which lasted till 1999 and we are saying no to those forces of retrogression and retardation this time around. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu won his election squarely and nobody should be allowed to truncate the almost completed process.
“The process will be completed with the inauguration on the 29th of this month and that’s why we are here Kabiyesi. We have moved round the city to sensitize our people on the need to be vigilant and ready to counter the anti-democratic forces willing to derail the process. Nigeria belongs to all of us and the mandate given to Asiwaju must be defended by all people of good conscience, that’s our plea, Kabiyesi. May your reign be long and peaceful”, the Director further stressed.
Packaged by Oludotun Ajibola
