Interest groups have warned the incumbent Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa to stay clear from substituting names of winners in the recent primary elections in Lagos State with the names of his cronies as candidates. The groups vowed to mobilise Lagosians for justice to reign if the alleged plans by the Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker sails through.
To this end, a Lagos based civil rights movement and democracy watch collaborated with another group known as ‘Progressive Lagos for Justice and Fair Play’ to outrightly condemn in strongest terms the alleged post election activities of the Speaker, Rt Hon. Obasa
The Group has threaten to expose the Speaker to the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Lagos state, the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Governor’s Adversary Council, and all party stakeholders on the plan by the Speaker of the Lagos state House of Assembly to substitute names for already acclaimed winners in the just concluded Party Congresses as candidates for the State Assembly election coming up next year.
In another joint press statements signed by Wasiu Adebanjo and Comrade Kunle Fadipe and Latifat Odumosu which red in part, “We wish to appeal to every Progress Lagosians, Democrats and to all it may concern to urgently rescue the democratic process in Lagos state Assembly from the activities of the incumbent Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Obasa against changing the names of successful winners announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
The group wondered why the Speaker who is lawyer and a law makers should throw caution to the wind and subvert the will of the masses as exercised through the recent party Congress two weeks ago where some of the candidates that emerged victoriously and being secretly changed to favour about 7 of his cronies against the names of those who have been duly declared winners in the Congress.
It will be in the interest of justice and fair play that Rt. Hon Obasa respect the rights of the Lagosians and their rule of engagement. If the All Progressive Congress Party at the national level can respect the process leading to a widely acknowledged credible election for it’s Presidential candidate through the emergence of His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Lagos state Assembly should be allowed by Hon Obasa to run on its own and allow the status quo to suffice.
Hon Obasa should not make himself the poster boy that personifies a greedy and selfish democrat having been in power getting to 3 decades and now exercising such power on fraudulent partway to reward loyalists and destroy excellence with mediocrity.
Rt Hon Obasa is no doubt making a mockery of our electoral process here in a state know for excellence, thereby becoming a complicit in an effort to foist deception to the public with defies honesty, transparency and good faith.
A person with principle and conviction will not be a party to such an unethical arrangement. If he does, it demonstrates his low regard of the people and he should not enjoy their trust.
He has not shown any different from a nuisance candidate who is devoid of any intention to serve our people but to commit an undue advantage over, or wreck the chances of, political opponents.
“It’s high time to review the law or regulation allowing substitution of candidates except those in cases of death or disqualification; otherwise, there will be no honesty and fair play in our elections.
“It is making a mockery of the Lagos APC Congresses and knowingly becoming complicit in an effort to foist fake and perpetrate deception to the public which will never stand no matter his efforts.
“It is disheartening that such action which defy transparency and good faith will come from the Speaker one of the biggest beneficiary of democracy and a that is supposed radiate good principle of rule of engagement at all times against such unethical arrangement.
“We as a group will mobilize Lagosians against this thrust, which questions the rights of the people of Lagos State and brought it under attack”, the group said.
