Imoleayo Oyedeyi
A group under the auspices Leaders After God’s Own Spirit Initiatives (LAGOSI) has called for the immediate removal of the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Segun Agbaje, following a statement he made during a live interview on Channels on Wednesday.
The group said Agbaje during the interview had inferred that the Igbo residents in Okota Area of the state should not be issued their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) because they were ‘immigrants’.
In a statement issued by its convener, Dr. Bolaji Akinyemi, in Lagos on Wednesday, the group accused the INEC REC of being complicit in a plan to disenfranchise Igbos in the state.
The group stressed that: “In a reckless political communication known only with thugs, Agbaje made it clear that the reason the residents of the area cannot have their PVC is because many of them are from the South East part of the country, inferring that they are immigrants.”
The group while dismissing any planned protest against the fuel and cash scarcity which it said is being instigated by those who crushed the #ENDSars protest in Lagos using the army, however, asked Lagosians to rise against what it called injustice meted against the Igbos in Lagos.
The statement said: “The only protest acceptable for now is Segun Agbaje must go! Our only hope for a better and greater future is the grand national protest scheduled for the 25th of February 2023! Our placards being our PVCs, anything that will compromise the system to oversee a free and fair election must be gotten rid of.
“Agbaje has done it before and by his comment on the Igbos, the signs are obvious of what he is capable of. If Igbo will votes in Lagos, and their votes will count like that of every other tribe, then Agbaje must not remain INEC REC in Lagos state,” it added.
Akinyemi, who is also the convener of the Apostolic Round Table, while appreciating the endurance of Nigerians affected by the economic woes occasioned by scarcity of cash and fuel, also encouraged registered voters to ensure they collect their PVC in order to vote in the election, adding that any attempt to manipulate the polls should be met by the mother of all protests.
“Be prepared for pay back with figures beyond their manipulations and if in conspiracy with INEC, they serve the BVAS breakfast after the people’s victory as they did in Osun recently, then the mother of all protests can follow but till then, Segun Agbaje must go! We will cast our votes, ensure it is counted and our elected President announced, inaugurated and running the country,” he added.
