The attention of the
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has been drawn to a report of The
Nation Newspaper.
Specifically, the contentious report, which was published on the newspaper’s
front page without any by-line, insinuated that Governor Ambode might be
working with an opposition party through a former member of the Lagos State
Executive Council and Commissioner for Energy & Mineral Resources, Mr. Wale
Oluwo.
The report also attempted to hold the Governor responsible for the alleged
activities of Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi because he supported the governor’s
gubernatorial ambition during the primaries of the All Progressives Congress in
October 2018.
The governor wishes to make it abundantly clear that, having declared publicly
his acceptance of the decision of the party on the primaries, he has not and
will never take any action to undermine the prospects of the party in the
on-going elections.
It is human to aspire and the capacity of each individual to manage the
negative outcomes of a legitimate aspiration differs.
But that should never be the basis to link His Excellency to whatever action of
certain individuals who might have shared his vision in the past but have
proceeded to pursue their own interests as adults and citizens without any
influence from or recourse to the governor.
Governor Ambode’s decision to stand by the party that has given him the
platform to serve Lagosians meritoriously is based on the principle of justice,
responsibility and loyalty. He has everything to gain from the victory of the
party’s candidate Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the Governor of Lagos State on
March 9, 2019 and he looks forward to handing over the affairs of the state to
the candidate of the APC come May 29th.
It is therefore disturbing, unfair and sad that a respected medium such
as The Nation which enjoys the goodwill of members of our party and is
appropriately positioned to verify the falsehood of these fictitious and
sponsored hatchet job chose not to observe the journalistic dictum of “if in
doubt, leave out” in the breach.
In this circumstance, His Excellency hereby makes use of his right to a
rejoinder and demands an apology for the unjustifiable aspersions cast on his
person by wrongly presenting him to right thinking members of the public as a
disloyal saboteur trying to frustrate his party’s campaign and electoral
victory.
Nothing can be farther from the truth. Governor Ambode has consistently
appealed to those who sympathize with him that the best way to express
solidarity is to vote for the candidates of the All Progressives Congress on
Saturday March 9, 2019 in order to ensure that his own legacy is preserved and
the gains of the past four years are improved upon
As we move towards next Saturday’s important election, Governor Ambode urges
Lagosians and party faithful not to allow fifth columnists pretending to be
overzealous crusaders frustrate our onerous efforts to take Lagos State to the
next level. The governor says as he did in the run-up to last Saturday’s
presidential poll, he will leave no stone unturned and spare no effort in
ensuring that the party’s flag-bearer in the governorship election, Mr.
Sanwo-Olu and all the 40 APC candidates in the House of Assembly poll are duly
elected on Saturday March 9.
