By Dapo Akinrefon & Gabriel Olawale

• Say, ‘threatening voters, politics of annihilation’

• As CAN backs Sanwo-Olu for second term

MEMBERS of Omo Eko Pataki, consisting of Olabode George, former deputy governor of Lagos State, Senator Kofoworaola Akerele-Bucknor, and Mrs. Onikepo Oshodi, yesterday, condemned threats to voters who refuse to support a particular political party on March 11, describing it as divisive politics of annihilation.

They also endorsed the Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, saying it is time for renewal and rebirth in Lagos State.

The group also raised the alarm of plans to ensure the LP candidate is taken out of circulation before Saturday’s polls, warning that it does not want a repeat of what happened to the late Funsho Williams in Lagos State.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the leader of the group, Olabode George, expressed worry over threats being issued against voters suspected to be willing to vote against incumbency.

The group, which subtly endorsed the LP governorship candidate, urged Lagos residents to be wary of voting for the All Progressives Congress, APC, during the March 11 governorship election.

George said: “We have called you here today, on the auspices of the Omo Eko Pataki, a concerned vanguard of true born and bonafide Lagosians, to brief you on issues of salient national importance, as we head towards the final lap of the 2023 general elections.

“It is expedient for us as major stakeholders, to let Lagosians, Nigerians, and the international community be aware of developments both in the aftermath of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, as well as raise some pertinent concerns about the Governorship, and the State Assembly elections scheduled for this Saturday, March 11, 2023.

“Of paramount interest and concern is the issue of threat to lives by cronies and criminal elements, who we presume is being unleashed on innocent citizens who are willing to exercise their civic rights, to effect a positive change to their lives, the lives of their unborn children, using the civilised option of the ballot box, universally approved as opposed to the option of anarchy.

“As we speak, there are grand designs, to provoke the peace-loving Nigerians, whose resolve is to effect change through the ballot box on Saturday, as threats are being issued against voters suspected to be willing to vote against incumbency.

“For the avoidance of doubt, a particular video has gone virile, on social media, which showed a weird character, suspected to be one of the agents of the state, threatening brimstone and fire against anybody, particularly of South East extraction (Igbo), to dare come out on Election Day to vote for the Labour Party.

“In the words of the state agent in the video clip, ‘It’s either Sanwo Olu or nothing in Lagos’.

“To this disposition, we, the Omo Eko Pataki, say it is the most heinous crime against humanity in this 21st century, and condemn such in its entirety.

“We ask: who gave these characters the institutional authority and powers, to query the right of Nigerians to exercise their civic responsibility?

“We reject this divisive politics of annihilation of innocent Nigerians, which seek to create anarchy and provoke the anger of the citizenry. We wish to remind all the non-Lagosians agents of the Lagos State Government, that Nigerians have lived together in peace, irrespective of any political party in power.”

“We wish to inform Nigerians about the heinous plan, to secretly eliminate the Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the latest move by the take Lagos occupiers, to take him out of circulation before the election on Saturday.

“We, hereby, warn that, should anything happen to this vibrant bonafide Lagosian, who fate has thrown up to free our dear state from the stranglehold of marauders, Nigerians should know who to hold.

“We call on Nigerians to be wary of taking yet another wrong step to vote for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, the government in the impending governorship election on March 11, 2023.

“Without any equivocation, we say under the watch of the APC government, our country has been bestriding in widening uncertainties. There are no certitudes anywhere as lawlessness defines the national landscape.

“We cannot continue with the old ways. The system is now devoid of stabilizing balance. We must rework it. We must push towards renewal and rebirth. This is the time for us to have a change of vision through an electoral overhaul,” he said.

CAN backs Sanwo-Olu for second term

Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in Lagos State, yesterday endorsed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for a second term in office.

Speaking during a press conference at the Chapel of Christ The Light in Ikeja, the chairman of the association, Rev. Stephen Adegbite said that Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat have performed excellently well in the state.

He said: “We would like to inform the residents of Lagos State that the Christian Association of Nigeria in Lagos and the Christian community in the state are throwing our weight solidly behind the candidacy of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and is deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat for a second term in office.

“Let me say that this endorsement is based primarily on one thing, performance, and nothing else.

“His achievements in the critical sectors of the economy of the state are endearing, and we are convinced that they need to be sustained.”