*Vow to resist rigging,  retain Lagos

By Clifford Ndujihe and Olasunkanmi Akoni

LEADERS of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), yesterday, vowed not to allow an inch of political foothold to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos and the other five states of the South-West geo-political zone.

At a mega rally held at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, the ACN leaders, including Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos, Malam Nuhu Ribadu (the presidential candidate), said the 14 million votes of the zone were not for bargaining.

The leaders, at the event meant  to flag-off Fashola’s re-election campaign next month, vowed to resist antics by any political party to rig the April general polls.

From Right; Gov. Babatunde Fashola in Lagos state; his running mate, Mrs. Joke Orelope-Adefulure, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, ACN leader and the party presidential candidate, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu at the ACN mega rally held at Tafawa Balewa Square, yesterday.

Indeed,  Fashola said that ACN was set to claim massively all the slots in the South-West at the polls to ensure that the PDP lose their deposits in all the states.

Tinubu, clad in ACN attire with a broom in his hand, told party supporters and the electorate to ensure that they swept the PDP, which he dubbed Poverty Development Party, away in the elections.

He lambasted the party for not being able to fix the problems besetting Nigeria for the past 12 years.  Rather than ameliorating the situation, he said they added to the sufferings of Nigerians.

Tinubu, who declared that he was proud of Fashola’s achievements in the last four years of his administration in the state, charged the governor to ensure that the PDP did not have five percent of votes in Lagos.

The immediate past governor of Lagos said ACN was not moved and was not intimidated by PDP’s claim to capture Lagos State at all costs and would beat the party by a landslide margin.

Party supporters at the rally.

His words: “Good people of Nigeria, I urge you to vote for Ribadu and Fola Adeola they will turn things around for the better just like Fashola is doing in Lagos, if voted as the next president.

“When I presented Fashola as the best man for the job even in the midst of crisis, they said he could not perform and now has he performed or not? And now the second term is here, PDP has come with their lies.They say they must capture Lagos State. PDP can’t even capture anywhere in the South-West, let alone Lagos. Their own leader left a legacy of failure and inefficiency. But see Lagos today, it is working, a man with best mind is giving you that service.”

Tinubu recalled that five years ago PDP seized the people’s money.  “They kept your money meant for local governments but today those councils are serving you well.”

On Ribadu, Tinubu said he was a man full of energy, who was ready to make the desired change in Nigeria.

Addressing the huge crowd at the rally, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu noted that the only challenge confronting the nation was PDP because they make promises and don’t deliver.

From right; ACN presidential candidate Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, his running mate, Mr. Fola Adeola and ACN Chairman Chief Bisi Akande at the rally.

Ribadu promised that ACN would bring the type of change witnessed in Lagos under Fashola’s government to all the 36 states in the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. “We’ll bring change to Nigeria. We will give people that have integrity the opportunity to prove themselves,” he said.

His running mate, Mr. Fola Adeola, who addressed the crowd after Ribadu, explained that PDP had not done anything to show it was worth voting for in April. “They have failed the country thrice because they don’t have anything to offer. We would make change, if given the opportunity,” he promised.

In his address, Fashola promised that if given the mandate for a second term, he would ensure completion of all the developmental projects embarked on by his administration. He listed the on-going projects as the light rail project, Lagos-Badagry expressway, the Lekki Free Trade Zone that has Lekki Airport and Seaport, adding, “we will accelerate work on these projects for development of Lagos.”

Present at the rally at which leaders of the PDP from 13 local governments defected to the ACN with their supporters were National Chairman of ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, all the party’s candidates in Lagos which include Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East Senatorial District), Mrs Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central Senatorial District) and Ganiyu Solomon (Lagos West Senatorial District).