A former Lagos State APC Secretary, Primate Charles Odugbesi (JP) has canvassed support for the re-election bid of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu ahead of the forthcoming Gubernatorial polls slated for Saturday, March 11, 2023.
Primate Odugbesi, in an open letter to all the council chairmen, councillors, supervisors, special advisers, and SLGs of the 57 LGAs/LCDAs in the state, advised them to campaign and mobilise voters for Sanwo-Olu, declaring that a vote for Sanwo-Olu will secure their position in their respective council areas.
In his words; “I am making a call to all chairmen, councillors, supervisors, special advisers, SLGs etc. in all the 57 LGAs of Lagos State that the coming elections on Saturday, March 11, 2023, is not about Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat, it is about you and your existence as whatever position you are holding.
“With 57 Council Chairmen/Women, 377 Councillors, 57 SLGs, and about eight or more supervisors multiply by 57, if you cannot deliver Lagos State to APC who made it possible for you to enjoy what you are enjoying presently, then it is a shame on you all.
“Let me warn you before it is too late that Local Government affairs are at the mercy of the Governor. So if another Party should win, God forbids bad things, just pack your bags and baggage and leave the council premises before you are chased out.
“Some Council chairmen that are waiting for the state to mobilize them before they mobilize voters in their domains, will have no position again. Do not forget that people from other parties are envious of your positions and are working hard to replace you. If you are outside the fence for four years you will know that God has no tribal marks.
“From experience, the local government apparatus alone is enough to win the elections. With the Councillors and supers and party members from the 377 wards, and you still cannot win your wards, it is a shame. This was the same apparatus we have been using in the past to win elections, but right now, it looks like the council bosses do not know that they are sitting on kegs of gunpowder. You are the ones that can do it because you are the ones who know your area. You know where the new polling units are situated.”
He also urged Governor Sanwo-Olu to call on these leaders and give them the mandate to deliver their respective wards and LGAs/LCDAs.
“I will suggest here, at this juncture, that Mr Governor should call all the chairmen and the Councillors and all the other council political office holders and give them the mandate to go and deliver their wards and Local Governments,” he stated.
He also added “There is a problem on the ground that I will want to put to the notice of Mr Governor, and that problem must be addressed and a lasting solution be found. During the last Party Congress, the instruction was that all first-timers should be returned, but this was not done. Some leaders in some LGAs do not follow this instruction and those were the people who were on the seat when new polling units were added. Many people could not vote last time because their polling units had been changed by INEC. The new executive members do not know the new locations. So some voters felt disenfranchised and went back home. Reconciliation should be done before March 11.
“How I wish Asiwaju will have the chance to come to Lagos and hold a stakeholders meeting. He has done it in the past. The people will come with their grievances and frowned faces but will go back home with smiles and determination to go home and deliver. As President-elect, he may be too busy. But Mr Governor can do the same and call the meeting to ACME and not the state house. APC members in Lagos still hold the Governor in high esteem.
If all the i's and t's can be dotted and crossed, the combination of PDP, Labour and the rest cannot defeat us. I want to beg all aggrieved members of APC to have the mind of forgiveness and come out and do the work the way we know to do it best. We are champions and shall not come back to be losers.
“I beg you in the name of God, let us come together and retain our leadership position in Lagos state. If we are not getting what we want as individuals now, our time is coming once we are still in control. It is better to be a servant in Paradise than to be a king in hell.”
