The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and his Deputy, Dr Kadir Obafemi Hamzat have commended the peaceful governorship in the state.
They both commended members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the peaceful exercise.
Sanwo-Olu commended the conducive atmosphere when he voted during the primary election.
At the venue, where about 1,810 people participated, the Governor expressed happiness at the exercise, describing it as “calm and family-like”, despite the large crowd that gathered before noon to participate in the exercise.
Sanwo-Olu, who openly declared support for the Deputy Governor, expressed confidence that Hamzat would emerge as the party’s flag-bearer and eventually win the governorship election.
He commended party officials from Abuja and the APC leadership for conducting the exercise peacefully and transparently.
Hamzat, at about 1 07 pm, arrived at his Ward A4, Oke Balogun, Alawaye, Ansar-Udeen Primary School, Epe premises where he cast his vote amid wild jubilation by supporters and party faithful.
Hamzat, along with his wife, Oluremi, was also accompanied by APC Governorship Electoral Committee, Gen.Jon Telling,
former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforuji, APC state Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, member House of Representatives, Ikeja Constituency, James Faleke, Mutiu Are, Secretary Governance Advisory Council, GAC, Olayinka Adekunle, Special Adviser on Works and Secretary Local Organising Committee of the primary, Dr. Akeem Shittu, Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, LASUBEB,among other prominent personalities.
The electoral officer Kayode Kazeem Eleshin, popularly called KK, at the end of the exercise announced that the three aspirants as; Hamzat polling a total of 2,210 votes out of 2,430 accredited voters, and Samuel Ajose, fondly called SMA, who has earlier withdrawn from the race and Lanrean Jim-kamal, scoring 1 vote.
Addressing the media, Hamzat thanked voters for coming out in large numbers to vote massively for him, and promised not to disappoint them if voted as governor in 2027 Governorship poll.
According to him, “Thank you very much, first of all we must thank members of our party and the accreditation team that came from Abuja to witness the whole process.
“So, as you can see it was transparent, people queued up, so it was option A4. So, we must thank everybody as odd as it is, people stood up right here waiting to be counted and at the end of the day we saw the numbers.
“I must thank all party members for coming out to do the voting, for believing in our party and the democratic credentials that we are trying to build, that Mr President is trying to build for this country.
“So it’s a process, it’s happening across all the two 45 high-neck wards in Lagos State, so this is just one of them and the report we are getting is peaceful across the state, so we are thankful that the whole process is going on well.”
On advice for electorate in the coming polls, Hamzat stated, “A democratic competition, is not a war, it’s a competition of ideas.
“How do we move our people forward? So if your intention is to move people forward to develop the state, why do you need to fight?
“So our party will never be involved in that, we do things peacefully as you can see here, we are peaceful people, we are in a joyous mood, so that’s the momentum that we are taking to the election.
“We will come out with our manifesto, we will come out with our programmes, we will come out with what we want to do to elevate our state. We are the best party to deliver on the progress for it to build a state that can last, a state that our children, our grandchildren can be proud of.”
Earlier, Chairman of the Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area, Alade Folawiyo, described the turnout as massive and impressive.
Folawiyo expressed optimism that Hamzat would consolidate on the achievements of the Sanwo-Olu administration if elected governor of the state.
He passed a vote of confidence in the deputy governor, saying that he possessed adequate experience and understanding of governance of the state at all levels.
The Lagos Island boss affirmed that continuity in leadership would sustain ongoing infrastructural development and security improvements across the state.
While commending the people for turning out en-masse, Folawiyo said: “I am so happy that people can see it in the people’s mouth. I see the kind of enthusiasm and happiness in the face of everybody in this ward.”
The Chairman of Ikeja Local Government, Comrade Akeem Olalekan Dauda, popularly called, AKOD, also, successfully coordinated the governorship primary election of Hamzat in his Anifowoshe ward.
Dauda commended the leadership of the party for ensuring a transparent, peaceful, and well-organized process throughout the state.
He described the emergence of Hamzat as a reflection of the confidence and trust the party stakeholders and members have in his capacity, experience, competence, and commitment to sustaining the progressive developmental agenda in Lagos State.
AKOD further praised party members in Ikeja for their discipline, unity, loyalty, and massive participation during the exercise, noting that the successful conduct of the primary election once again demonstrated the strength and cohesion of the APC in Lagos State.
He reiterated his unwavering commitment to the ideals and vision of the progressive family and assured that the APC in Ikeja remains fully mobilized and united towards ensuring greater victories for the party in the forthcoming general elections.
