Ahead of Saturday, 11 March, 2023, gubernatorial poll, Igbo leaders in Lagos State under the umbrella of Concerned Ndigbo Lagos on Monday, 6 March, 2023, appealed to all residents of the state to consider the experience and scorecard of each candidate vying to be governor before deciding on who to elect.
The group disclosed that the credentials of all the governorship candidates have been reviewed but no one has what it takes to be governor of Lagos State, except the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and incumbent governor of the state, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The Concerned Ndigbo Lagos, therefore, appealed to the Igbo extraction living in the state to support Governor Sanwo-Olu and come out en-mass to re-elect him on Saturday, March 11, 2023, saying Lagos deserves continuity of good governance, which Ndigbo has enjoyed under the current administration.
Speaking during a press conference jointly addressed by the Coordinator of Concerned Ndigbo Lagos, Chief Chibunna Ubawuike, Patron, Igwe Ikechukwu Ojede and Secretary, Chief Ozoemena Nliam, in Ikeja, on Monday, the group said the re-election of Governor Sanwo-Olu for a second term will be in the interest of the Ndigbo and therefore urged Lagos residents, especially Ndigbo to vote for the APC candidate during the Saturday gubernatorial poll.
Ubawuike, who is the National Organising Secretary of the All Registered APC Support Groups for Tinubu/Shetima, explained that a vote for Governor Sanwo-Olu became imperative because his administration had performed creditably well without segregating or discriminating against any tribe in the state.
He, therefore, urged Ndigbo in the state to give unflinching support to Governor Sanwo-Olu’s re-election bid as he had continued to provide an enabling environment for businesses and other tribes to thrive in Lagos and beyond.
Ubawuike said Governor Sanwo-Olu had made tremendous and integrated development as well as performance in various sectors while turning Lagos into a construction site with massive Infrastructural gains, which had brought about investments while building cordial relationship with the Igbos hence the need to vote for him.
Also speaking, the Patron of Concerned Ndigbo Lagos, Igwe Ikechukwu Ojebe, described Governor Sanwo-Olu as an honest man who had been doing well and can take Lagos to the next level of success to make life more better and comfortable for residents.
“On March 11, every one of us should try and vote for Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He has tried in Lagos State. He is a man of the people and he is a Christian. I know him and I trust him. So, we should please try and vote for him. He is an honest man. I am begging everybody; be it Igbo, Hausa or any tribe, please let us vote for Governor Sanwo-Olu. He is a man that can take us to the next level,” he said.
The Secretary of Concerned Ndigbo Lagos, Chief Ozoemena Nliam, who said he benefited from the free payment of WAEC by the Lagos State government while in school and got married to a Yoruba woman in Lagos, appealed to his kinsmen to come out en masse on Saturday to cast their votes to re-elect Governor Sanwo-Olu.
He said: “Lagos State is a cosmopolitan state and it accommodates all tribes. The last presidential election and the Lagos State governorship election coming March 11 for me a different ball game. On March 11, we should all wear our thinking caps. The President-Elect (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu) who is the modern-day leader and architect of Lagos State, has done so much.
“I am appealing to my Igbo brothers to know that Lagos State has its pattern and that patterns favour everybody that lives in Lagos as long as you live and respect the law. Governor Sanwo-Olu, who has a second term bid, will do well for Igbo because I must admit he has done well and he will keep doing well. He has done a lot in continuation of the legacy of Asiwaju.”
