.As gov reiterates commitment to lasting peace, unity
.Labour Party calls for cancellation of guber poll
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reassured residents of the State that Red Line Rail will be delivered to them as an alternative means of transportation before the end of his first term in office.
The Governor gave the assurance on Tuesday while speaking to journalists at Oyingbo in Lagos after an inspection tour of the ongoing Red Line Rail project and vehicular overpass bridges at Yaba and Oyingbo train stations.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was accompanied on the tour by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the Managing Director of the Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. Abimbola Akinajo and some cabinet members said his administration is on track towards delivering the dividends of democracy to Lagosians, irrespective of the ethnic or religious divide they belong to.
During the inspection, Governor Sanwo-Olu was welcomed by an elated crowd at the Yaba and Oyingbo train stations, where commercial activities were ongoing peacefully.
Lagos residents in the area came out in large numbers to congratulate the Governor on his recent electoral victory and also expressed their appreciation for developmental projects in different parts of the State.
While expressing satisfaction with the progress and level of work on the Red Line Rail, which is in its first phase is from Oyingbo to Agbado, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the State Government will intensify efforts to educate and enlighten traders along the Right of Way of the Red Line Rail of the dangers of staying there.
He said the project at different stages of completion has five Vehicular Overpass Bridges, including Oyingbo, Yaba, Mushin to Onipanu, and Ikeja, to forestall train-vehicle accidents and reduce travel time for Lagosians.
“We believe we are still on track. We believe it should be ready before the end of our first term depending on when we want to commission it. We will be doing a lot of testing, and signalization because these road tracks will also be working with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, operating a train from Ebute-Meta in Lagos to Ibadan. We need to be able to harmonize a lot of signalization between our rail infrastructure and the Nigerian Railway Corporation rail infrastructure.
“All the vehicular overpass bridges are very important because of the unfortunate train and bus accident that we saw a few weeks ago at Shogunle. So all these bridges we are building, apart from the fact that they are full vehicular bridges, are also to stop trains, vehicles, and passengers needing to interact. The highest grade of ensuring that you completely remove any contact with rail is when you build a complete alternative mode of transportation for passengers, pedestrians, and vehicles,” he said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu told journalists that the early resumption of work immediately after the 2023 elections was to fulfill the ‘more work’ promise during the campaign to deliver the ‘Lagos Project.’
He expressed delight with the peaceful coexistence among various ethnic nationals living in Lagos State, especially in Yaba and Oyingbo, where there are many commercial activities.
“I came out today for us to get to work. Campaigns and elections in our view are over, we need to continue to serve our citizens. We still have about 67 days to go in our first term. So, we have to ensure that everything we need to do to be able to finish the first tenure is done. For us, the election is behind us. It is work that we have promised Lagosians that we are back to do. As a peaceful individual, I am committed to more peaceful co-existence among all Lagosians.
“We want to tell the people who are still carrying politics of bitterness that they should see the bigger picture and join us in meeting the aspiration of Lagosians, which is to provide an economic opportunity for them to make this place peaceful and continue to provide that economic space for them to be able to earn a living and be a better citizen for themselves and their family,” he said.
Labour Party calls for cancellation of guberpoll
The leadership of Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) on Tuesday called for total cancelation of the governorship election last Saturday’s Governorship poll, saying it did not reflect the true wish of Lagosians.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had declared the incumbent, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the winner of the election.
Chairman of the party, Mrs. Dayo Ekong; the LP Deputy Governorship Candidate in the state, Mr. Abiodun Oyefusi, among others made this call at a press conference, held at the party secretariat in GRA, Ikeja, describing the poll as worse than the February 25, 2023 Presidential/National Assembly exercise.
Ekong said the last election in Lagos State witnessed series of attacks on members and supporters of Labour Party, snatching of ballot boxes, among others, disclosing that she had just left hospital wards where she met some of them receiving treatment.
Insisting that on cancellation of the last poll and holding a fresh one, he said LP was resolved to seek redress in court of law, with credible evidence to prove its case.
“Last Saturday’s election did not reflect the true wish of the people of Lagos State. It is not the people’s wish, whatever it takes, we are going to seek justice at the court of law. I want to believe the judiciary will do the right thing. If they fail, we will take the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“We have evidence to show the whole world, we have the video recordings the distardly acts of what took place during the last election. At the right time we will make them available. There was no election in Lagos State last Saturday, it was not fair and credible,” she said.
Ekong said she was sadden with what took place in last Saturday in Lagos State, lamenting that the country leaders, who were supposed to speak out and condemn the act, had failed the youth.
This was just as the party chieftain noted that the police and security agencies did their best to ensure peaceful poll exercise, but said they were overwhelmed by the political thugs and hoodlums who were on a mission to disrupt the election, and ensure the results favoured their pay masters.
She said consequent to this development, elections did not hold in some areas in the state, noting that people did not come out to vote in order to protect dear lives, adding: “Nobody deserved to die.”
Ekong, while insisting on cancellation of the result of the last poll exercise, urged Nigerians not to hive up in ensuring that the right thing was done in the country.
“In Lagos, we reject the result they announced and demand for total cancelation. Nigerians don’t give up, bearing in mind that the right path is to seek justice,” said.
The LP Deputy Governorship Candidate, Princess Oyefusi, also corroborated the party’s chairman, saying election did not take place in most of the places in Lagos State, calling for cancelation of the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Oyefusi, while justifying the call, said in her polling booth over 500 registered voters were on the INEC list, but disclosed that less than 10 came out to vite in last Saturday’s poll exercise.
“I am surprised INEC announced the result, how can they announce such a result?” she queried.
Also speaking, the party secretary, Sam Okpala, said the LP demanded explanation from INEC on the huge amount of money it received to ensure that results were uploaded right away to the server which was never complied with, describing the Saturday poll as the worse ever in annal of the country.
According to him, Nigerian youths were expectant of credible and fair election but were disappointed to witness worse exercise, saying that the exercise recorded killings, attacks, arrests of party members, snatching of ballot boxes and burning of ballot papers, among others.
“We are demanding for total cancelation. There was no election. Whatever mandate they were handing over to anybody was being done on peoples blood. No election was held,” he said.
