…vow to pursue process to the end
The Lagos State PDP Governorship Candidate, Dr Abdul-Azeez Adediran (aka Jandor) says the outcome of the Saturday’s gubernatorial election is shocking and not a reflection of the party’s worth.
Adediran, who reacted to the outcome of the polls at a news conference on Monday at his Campaign Office in Ikeja, vowed to pursue the process to the end before letting out his next step of action.
Stating that an election is not an event but a process, Adediran said that residents had not seen the last of the Saturday’s poll as he was ready to follow the process till the end.
The candidate said: “It is so sad to see some leaders trying to force themselves on people.
“We need to let everyone know that Saturday’s election was the end of another process (in INEC timetable for the 2023 elections) and the process continues.
“We will know what action to take when we see the last of this process. We have not seen the last if it. Yes, a supposed winner has been declared but the election is a process not an event.
“So, we will see this to the end before we begin to say what decision are we taking as a party.
“We went into this election against all principalities in Lagos State. We ran this election against INEC, the Police, the APC and as a matter of fact, we ran against some of our leaders within the PDP.
“We feel so proud that as lone rangers, we were able to stand on our feet and put up a good fight to set Lagos free.”
Highlighting some flaws in the process, Adediran said that the Saturday’s election became like a war adding that majority of PDP agents and those of other opposition political parties were chased away from collation centres.
He said: “Everybody is Lagos saw what happened and knew what happened on the street of Lagos.
“There were voters’ suppression everywhere, intimidation, harassment, violence, some people were killed while several other harmed in the process of them trying to express or exercise their franchise.
“For us, we know that the election was already predetermined because before the election, we tried everything to ensure we bring all threats and compromises to the notice of the security formations in Lagos.
According to him, some of the INEC Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used for the polls were already contained number of accredited voters before getting to the polling units among other infractions.
“We have cases of this in Ikoyi and Lagos West. We caught few and asked the INEC officials to clear them before election but this show that a lot happened unnoticed. Figures were allocated at the end of the day.
“We have collected enough evidence to enter into the next process. The process is ongoing and we are going to follow it to letter,” he said.
Adediran, who noted that with his brand and the amount of work he put in place, it was shocking to hear that he only polled 3,000 voter in his LGA in Ojo.
He revealed that before the poll, he was called to return to the APC when some people started moving and if he refused, he would be disgraced.
“And this what we find in the predetermined figures here and there,” he said.
The candidate explained that he ran the poll all by himself and his team, saying, “not a single N1 from the party at the state level or the national level, after Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
He expressed condolences to families of those who lost their lives in the election and sympathised with those who were wounded in the process because they wanted a better Lagos.
Adediran said that he felt so proud that in the face of huge suppression and rumours about him being a mole in PDP, he had been able to justify that he was in the race to truly bring a breath of fresh air.
He added that he was still standing “even when some respected leaders, supposedly, in the party had to leave us for crumbs in the ruling party.
“We stayed behind to see this to the last. Even when some left the party to form a false alliance, we stood our ground to see this to fruition.
“I want to commend people of Lagos, all loyal PDP leaders who stayed to see that the election came to the logical conclusion,” he said.
Adediran said that if elections had been free and fair, he would have been the first to issue a congratulatory message to the winner.
He urged the “depressed and demoralised” party loyalists and followers to remain resolute, keep heads up and wait for the next decision.
“I am assuring them that at the end of this process, we will be triumph. This is not fighting anybody but exercising our constitution rights. I am here to continue to lead,” he said.