Our members were victims of intimidation, violence during guber election in Lagos —APC

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has distanced itself from reports that its members were responsible for electoral violence during the March 18 governorship and state house of assembly elections in the state.

Prior to the election day, there were divisive statements that rented the social media space, mostly ethnically provocative comments between the Yoruba and the Igbo in Lagos.

However, two days to the election, on March 16, the Chairman of Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya a.k.a. MC Oluomo, in a viral video threatened Igbos to stay indoors, if they will not vote the APC during the election.

On the election day, videos of thugs snatching ballot boxes, threatening those who would not vote for the APC, disrupting electoral process at different polling units, among other acts of electoral irregularities, were littered on social media.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, of the APC, the winner of the election.

He scored 762,134 votes to defeat Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP), and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, a.k.a Jandor, who polled 312,329 votes and 62,449 votes, respectively.

However, the Lagos APC spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, while speaking at a press conference, on Thursday, Seye Oladejo, said their members were the actual victims of the electoral violence, stressing that their injured members are still battling for their lives at hospitals.

He added that only 130 or one percent of the polling units recorded distriburtances out of the 13,325 polling units in the state.

He stated that weighing from the figures, the election cannot be said to be marred by violence as portrayed by the opposition.

He cautioned opposition parties in the state to stop playing the victim.

Oladejo said: “Many false narratives have been put in the public space by the aggressors in the last election, who have turned round to shed crocodile tears in their bid to play the victim.

READ ALSO: APC tackles Obi over ‘false narrative’ on Nigeria’s election

“The elections have been won and lost. It is time for all patriotic citizens to concentrate on building our dear state and, by extension, the nation.

“But, this is not the thinking of the opposition, who have shown that they lack the true spirit of sportsmanship.

“It is on record that there are 13,325 polling units in Lagos state and there were reports of disturbances in about 130 or one percent of all the polling units.

“I think that is too infinitesimal for anyone to rely upon to say that the election was not free and fair.

“In other words, under no circumstance can we say the incidents invalidated the credibility of the elections.

“We also need to state that the false alarm that members of the APC perpetrated violence during the election cannot be substantiated. It is sheer falsehood.

“The party has loyalists, members, and sympathisers in all nooks and crannies of the state. It has no reason to embrace violence.

“On the contrary, our members were mostly the victims of intimidation and violence. Many are still in hospitals where doctors are battling to save their lives.”

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