Why Agbaje Can’t Be Lagos Governor

Hon. Abiodun Tobun, who is representing Epe Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, is not only seeking a re-election into the House, he wants the people to continue to vote for his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State and in Nigeria.
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He believes the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot handle the problems of the state and the country, and that the people know those that are concerned about their welfare.

Hon. Tobun spoke to recently about the forthcoming general elections, PVC, the state of the nation and why the APC should be given a chance at the centre and why the party should continue to rule in Lagos State.
The 2015 election is posing a level of uncertainty. What do you think are the chances of your party?

APC has been in Lagos State for a long time and we have been doing well in the state. People want good roads, healthcare facilities and so, many other things have continued to happen in the state. Lagos residents are so clever, they are wise and educated and they know what is good for them. So, we have no problem when it comes to Lagos State. The few ones that pose problems, we know how to contain them and it is not by violence, it is just by telling the people to go all out and collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to ensure that they have a say. APC is in control of Lagos State and we will do everything legally possible to retain the state. In Epe, my chances are bright by God’s grace.

How do you view the postponement of the elections?
It is criminal. It is suicidal. You have four years to prepare for the elections and it had been programmed and planned; so why would you now postpone the elections? Postponing the elections made the international community to loose focus on Nigeria, investors are running away and this is not good for democracy in the country. Our democracy must be protected at all times. The PDP is afraid: its members know that change is imminent and they are afraid of change at the centre. So the PDP must be changed, and then the APC would bring in good governance.

Poor distribution of PVC is one of the reasons the PDP has claimed for the postponement…
Let them use any approach; if they use the PVC, we are ready, if they use the Temporary Voters Cards (TVCs), we are ready, if they use Option A4 where the people queue behind their candidates, the people are ready, we are ready. We are going to make sure our votes count and we are going to defend our votes. The postponement is rubbish. Why are they afraid? What they could not do for four years, would they do it in six weeks?

There is fear concerning the level of violence that may erupt with the election. What do you think?
I want to assure you that we would have crisis-free elections in Nigeria. For the fear of unknown, for the fear that they would be voted out of power, the PDP wants to prove stubborn by all means. But we are a progressive party, we will not join issues with them, we will campaign vigorously to ensure that our people are in line with our mission and vision for a better Nigeria and to ensure that they vote massively. They (the PDP) would come with their antics to cause problems, but we will make sure we contain them by not joining issues with them.

We will make sure we mobilize the people to vote for our party and we will make sure the people vote the PDP out of power because the people have resolved to change them. It happened in many other countries and they did not cause problems. Former governor Kayode Fayemi of the APC was voted out of power in Ekiti State and there was no violence, so why are they afraid? Let them go, let the people vote for who they want. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) has contested on about three occasions and he lost, yet he didn’t cause any problem even as a retired General in the Nigerian Army. He went to court and abided by the ruling of the court. President Goodluck Jonathan, who got to the throne on a platter of gold, thinks he owns the throne and his surrogate or stooges that surround him are not reasonable.

They should shun self-centeredness, they should know that Nigeria does not belong to an individual; they should allow the will of the people to prevail. We in our party will eschew violence; we will uphold the tenets of free and fair elections in our party. If they want to resort to violence, the police should be up and doing to arrest the situation and bring the culprits to book.

Why do you think the APC should remain in Lagos State and why should they be allowed to rule at the centre?
Look at what is on ground, our record of development; look at where we were as a country before the PDP took over and what is happening now. PDP has failed us, they have not been able to give us electricity for 15 years, security of life and property cannot be guaranteed, there is infrastructural decay, we don’t have hospitals and the PDP is a corrupt party. Most of the former governors that were prosecuted and jailed were PDP governors, you cannot see a single progressive amongst them. PDP is the one celebrating corruption, look at former governor Daprieye Alamaseigha of Bayelsa State, he is back and they granted him amnesty; the former governor of Edo State, Mr. Lucky Igbinedion and others are members of the PDP. We are not going to allow them to continue, we are not going to allow them to come back. Go to the media, the social media, people are saying they want change. In Lagos State, how do you expect someone like Mr. Jimi Agbaje of the PDP to defeat someone like Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode of the APC who knows about good governance? This is Jimi Agbaje, who cannot manage a corner shop in Apapa, he was one of us and we know his acumen cannot carry the position of the governor of Lagos State, so we asked him to go to the senate, but since he has selfish interest, he went to the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA). The man is a political prostitute. He moved from about three or four parties before he got to the PDP, he is looking for ways, but Lagos residents are smarter, he cannot carry the mantle of leadership of Lagos State.
However, if you have someone like the Presidential candidate of the APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) as the President of Nigeria, he would work to ensure that Nigerians have the much needed development. In Lagos, we must continue, we still have missions and visions, we are not there yet. We want to move the state to the next level. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed started the foundation, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola is building on it and Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode would move the state to the next level. Lagos residents are sharp and smart; they would never fall into the trap of the PDP.
Source: Naij

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