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Forty Eight hours to Saturday’s governorship elections, the support base of the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has been boosted by a Coalition of South East groups and Indigenous Lagosians who endorsed him to be Lagos State Governor come May 29, 2023.
The endorsement announced on Wednesday during a media briefing in Lagos State by the President and National Coordinator, South East Revival Group (SERG), Chief Willy Ezugwu was galvanised through the support of the South East Revival Group (SERG), under the aegis of the Concerned True Igbo Stakeholders, Indigenous Lagosians and Non-indigenes in Lagos State.
Ezugwu noted that non-Yoruba residents of Lagos State, the Yoruba who have been subjugated since 1999 when Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over Lagos State, and true born Lagosians, whose ancestral lineage are traceable to Lagos parents all opted to throw their weight behind Rhodes-Vivour in the election because they see in him a governor that will save the state.
He charged the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu to give assurances that the lives and property of all Lagosians would be safe after the poll and berated the APC government in the state for not doing enough to protect the non-Yoruba in Lagos in the face of attacks.
He said, “The incumbent has not demonstrated enough political will to protect the non-Yoruba residents of Lagos State; we therefore call on all Igbos and other non-Yorubas in the state to vote en masse for the Labour Party governorship candidate and all other candidates of the party in the state House of Assembly election on Saturday. This is the only way to guarantee a governor who will protect them from the ongoing attacks and arson against Igbos and other non-indigenes.”
Ezugwu urged the Igbo, non-indigenes, indigenous Lagosians and residents of the state to come out en-masse and vote for the candidates of their choice.
He condemned those he referred to as “compromised Igbo leaders,” whom he said collected monetary gratifications to sway the votes.
He said, “The current political reality in Lagos State is that Igbos have been singled out by some tribal bigots for attack and all manner of threats. We want to dissociate true Igbos in Lagos from a self-seeking position of some ill-advised faceless persons who recently took a stand on behalf of Ndigbo with regards to the Saturday’s gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
“The group claimed that their support for the governorship candidate of the APC candidate is anchored on his performance, competence, cordial relationship with Igbos and his grand vision for Lagos, which has greatly favoured Igbos in the last four years.
“The question is: where has the governor been since Igbos are targeted for attacks, including setting their wares and properties on fire in markets in Lagos?
“The Governor, whom they claimed to have had a cordial relationship with the Igbos in Lagos, is yet to arrest and show any form of diligence in prosecuting persons who attacked non-Yorubas, particularly Ndigbo, during the Labour Party presidential campaign rally in Lagos State.
“Right now, the post-election safety of Igbos and all other non-Yorubas living in Lagos State is worrisome due to the current unwarranted politically motivated attacks on Igbos in Lagos State.”
The group commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the level of security deployed during the presidential and National Assembly elections and urged him to replicate same on Saturday.
