Sanwo-Olu deserves second term, says Afenifere leader, Pa Fasoranti

-As PDP Support Groups collapse structures for Gov.

IBRAHIM QUADRI

Ahead of the March 18 gubernatorial poll, the National leader of the apex Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, has endorsed the re-election bid of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urging the electorate in the State to queue behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in order to consolidate on the achievements recorded in Lagos.

Also the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Support Groups collapsed structures for him.

The Afenifere leader in a press statement said, Lagos is an important nation’s commercial city and the pride of the Yoruba race, saying the evolving physical and socio-economic developments of the city should not be thwarted. He said the State would gain more under the incoming Tinubu administration than when it is in the hands of the opposition.

The elder statesman urged Lagosians not to make the mistake of buying into the gimmick of those bent on reversing the achievement Lagos had recorded.

 Pa Fasoranti also described the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the 2023 presidential election as “a reflection of the electoral will of the majority of Nigerians”, congratulating the former Lagos Governor for his victory.

The Yoruba leader said he aligned with impartial electoral observers to give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a pass mark for the conduct of the presidential election, which he described as “free, fair and credible”, despite the challenges that threatened to derail the process.

The elder statesman urged the electoral umpire to build on the gains of the presidential elections and improve on the feat recorded in the conduct of gubernatorial elections coming up next Saturday across the federation.

 He said: “I want to use this opportunity to recognise and appreciate the achievements of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is seeking re-election for a second term on the platform of APC. Lagos as the economic nerve centre of Nigeria and by extension of Yorubaland deserves the very best. Governor Sanwo-Olu has been through the mill and crucible of politics, business, and public administration, occupying various positions in government since 1999 and garnering requisite experience which he has displayed in the last four years to the admiration of all and sundry.

“I am convinced that these giant strides should be sustained in the city with the third largest economy in Africa. I therefore wish to join my voice to those of other patriotic Lagosians that there is need for continuity in the state by lending my support to the second term bid of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as governor of Lagos State. In addition, I believe that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as APC President will benefit Lagos State more if the state has an APC Governor to compliment whatever the President has for Lagos State.”

Similarly, a National Director General, Democrat Group and Chairman of the All Support Groups of the PDP in Nigeria, Asiwaju Abidemi Elegbede, gave the endorsement on behalf of the group in Ikeja, Lagos, during a press conference organized in Lagos where PDP members defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

At the event, members of the PDP openly declared support for Sanwo-Olu’s re-election and for all the APC candidates in the House of Assembly election on Saturday.

The groups urged their supporters to go back to their various local government areas to mobilize their members to ensure that the governor is re-elected.

The spokesman stated that the Governor, “impacted on common humanity, as he has been performing and will do much better,” Elegbede urged all and sundry to ensure that Sanwo-Olu is re-elected to continue with the legacy of good works that he has begun.

He said: “I want you to know that surely, Sanwo-Olu’s emergence is certain, but your support is needed.”

Speaking on their defection to the APC, Elegbede said: “We were in the PDP. The reason we are here today is to tell you that we were not recognized in the PDP, where we are coming from. They never appreciated what we were doing and we thought it wise to come here and do the needful in a party where we know that we can be recognized.

“I am appealing to everyone here, that after this event, we should go to our various local government areas and our polling units to mobilize support and canvass for the re-election of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“We are here to endorse and approve the second-coming of Sanwo-Olu because we believe in a governor that is following the blue-print that has been laid down in Lagos State.

“When you are doing something, you don’t get to your destination immediately. It takes a process, which has been going on. So, we can’t just bring someone that is coming from nowhere, who will start from the beginning. Why not join the moving train?  We know that the APC is the moving train.

“We hereby declare that we are giving our total support and loyalty to the APC party and Governor Sanwo-Olu.”