Bola Badmus- Lagos
Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has, amid tension in Lagos State, following the victory of Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate, Mr Peter Obi, over his counterpart, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC), called on the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to address the residents and assure them the protection of their lives and property.
Afenifere made the call on Monday in a release issued by Chief Supo Shonibare, who heads the Lagos chapter of the group, even as it welcomed the statement from the APC Presidential Council enjoining Lagosians not to resort to acts of violence.
Besides, the pan- Yoruba socio-political group equally urged that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Mr Idowu Owohunwa, upholds the rule of law and ensure the protection of all residents and visitors in Lagos.
“We welcome the statement from the APC Presidential Council enjoining Lagosians not to resort to acts of violence. We also call on the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to address the residents of Lagos State and join hands with Afenifere to assure all residents of the protection of their lives and property.
“Furthermore, we request that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State upholds the rule of law and ensure the protection of all residents and visitors in Lagos,” the group said.
The group, while making the call noted that Obi emerged victorious at the polls in Lagos in spite of the suppression of votes and the violence clearly intended to deter perceived potential supporters of the rainbow coalition which had adopted LP Presidential Candidate “as their joint candidate, from being able to cast their votes.”
According to Afenifere, many of this grouping of supporters were prevented from voting, saying that there was a lack of diligence on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, who, it said connived with the ruling party’s leaders in many local governments by refusing to offload the election results at polling units, claiming that the same BVAS appliance which had successfully accredited voters, suddenly became inoperable in loading the results.
The group, while saying that it had been inundated with reports of violence in some parts of Lagos, targeted at Igbos, however, pointedly declared that Yoruba were an urbane, accommodating ethnic group that would always eschew violence in expressing democratic preferences.
It expressed appreciation to all Lagosians and residents who trooped out en masse to perform their civic duty by voting, urging “residents to ignore provocative posts on social media, many enabled by agent provocateurs, and aimed at fanning the embers of disunity among peace-loving residents and intended to pitch the Yorubas against Igbos.”
“Igbos voted for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in states in the South-East, in the same way, that many Yoruba elected to vote for Mr Peter Obi in Lagos and other states in the South-West,” Afenifere concluded.
