Lagos up for grabs, APC fears revenge mission by PDP

As Nigerians return to the polls to choose governors, and legislators for the state Houses of Assembly, the APC is losing sleep that President Goodluck Jonathan may deploy unconventional means to win over Lagos State for the PDP.

So far, both parties seem to be running head to head in the state, and analysts are of the belief that the election may go anyway considering the strength of the two major parties in the state.

The APC on Friday in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, raised the alarm that the president’s unannounced visit to Lagos State a day to the governorship election, was allegedly to strategise on how to manipulate the polls.

He said Jonathan had a closed-door meeting with the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II, Musiliu Obanikoro; and the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, Gani Adams.

According to him, President Jonathan was using the general perception, that he is a ‘good sportsman’, to deceive Nigerians, but that he was on a “revenge mission” to rig in Lagos because he failed in the state on March 28.

But in a quick reaction, his PDP counterpart, Olisa Metuh called on the electorate in the state to disregard the claim by the APC that the former was planning to rig the governorship election in the state, adding, that “The APC must desist from its propaganda, lies and false alarms especially bearing in mind that it did not win the Presidential election on account of such”.

He said the PDP was aware that the APC leader and President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had gone to about 12 states meeting and campaigning for his party’s candidates and wondered why the APC should fret about President Jonathan’s meeting with PDP candidates in Lagos.

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