Joe Igbokwe: For Lagos PDP, actions carry consequences

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Ever since Lagos PDP suffered a crushing and debilitating defeat in the just concluded national elections, the Party has been telling whoever cares to listen that it worked so hard to win Lagos but something is wrong somewhere. In their age-long tradition of crying wolf over nothing, this Party says APC manipulated the process and schemed them out. They are not only blaming the APC for their predicament, they have also been fighting the leadership of their own party for mismanagement of electoral fortunes and mismanagement of resources, both human and material. In fact Lagos PDP has been in crisis since the conclusion of April 11 guber elections. The crisis led to in-fighting within the party leadership and consequently resulted in the removal of the party Chairman Mr. Tunji Shelle. Even though he was reinstated thereafter, PDP Lagos has not found that peace it needs so badly to rebuild its collapsed house. Instead of settling down to face the common problem facing the mad house called Lagos PDP, its leaders engage in frivolities on a daily basis, chasing shadows and blaming others for the problems and pains they deliberately inflicted on themselves.

Now contrary to Lagos PDP ridiculous claim that it worked so hard to win Lagos, what we saw in Lagos PDP is corruption, impunity, brigandage, violence, destruction of ideas, intimidation, harassment, hate speeches, ethnic politics, rascality and criminality. While APC was too busy showcasing its huge democracy dividends in Lagos PDP leaders were brandishing guns and machetes all over Lagos intimidating, harassing and killing people just to instill maximum fear in the hearts of Lagosians. In Lagos Island, Ibeju Lekki and Alimosho, PDP took criminality to a frightening dimension. One Raheem, a House of Reps candidate and Segun Adewale, a Senatorial candidate put their trust in chariots and horses to win the election. While the counterparts in APC were campaigning all over the Lagos West Senatorial zone, Raheem and Adewale were brandishing guns and machetes, threatening fire and brimstone. About four people lost their lives in Alimosho shootings and Lagos voters took mental note of these desperations and paid them back on the Election Day. Action Carry Consequences!

While APC was very busy putting up decent campaigns all over Lagos, displaying billboards, posters, sign posts, banners, and electronic billboards in the metropolis PDP was very busy tearing them down with impunity. They connived with the law enforcement agents to inflict maximum damage to APC Campaign materials even in the dead of the night and Lagosians saw everything and waited for April 11 2015 to pay PDP back in their own coins. Managing Director, LASAA put a call to me after mid night one day that these brigands were at National Stadium tearing down and carting away our campaign materials with the support of policemen and soldiers. I got there around 1am and saw them at work. I could not do anything because I was alone. I left but other Lagosians saw them also and took mental note of their actions. Action Carry Consequences!

In their desperate bid to take Lagos at all cost President Jonathan, his wife and associates brought millions of dollars and Pound Sterling into Lagos while APC was busy selling their ideas and what it wants to do, PDP, President Jonathan and party leaders in Lagos were sharing Dollars and Pounds. Yes, Lagosians collected their money and took decisions on April 11 2015 because they know the difference between Egbe(kite) and Egbe (gun). Action Carry Consequences!

While APC was busy transversing the political landscape in Lagos advancing and selling world class ideas to wise and sophisticated Lagosians PDP Lagos was at the old Toll Gate near 7up robbing Lagosians who are desperate to get jobs of their hard earned money in the name of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, promising them non-existing jobs. The fraud went on for almost two years without actions from the powers that be even after APC and LASG raised an alarm. It was after the defeat of PDP at both the National and the State levels that the Chairman of PDP Lagos spoke the truth about the Lagos SURE-P fraud in Lagos. Tunji Shelle told us that one man who had guts organized the show of shame and used it effectively to rob Lagosians of their hard earned millions. They were drained, duped and dumped. Action Carry Consequences!

In an attempt to force President Jonathan to sack Professor Attahiru Jega and stop the use of PVC and Card Reader in the elections Jonathan and PDP sponsored OPC and MASSOB to seize Lagos and Umuahia. It was a Monday morning in Lagos and I saw violent OPC men led by Gani Adams seizing the entire ever busy Ikorodu road from the old Toll Gate to the National Stadium. Traffic was at a standstill and commuters were molested, harassed and intimidated to gun-bearing OPC men. As they marched violently to the National Stadium all APC Campaign materials along that corridor were brought down. It was the last act that brought PDP down in Lagos forever. Lagosians saw all this and waited for PDP in April 11 2015. Action Carry Consequences!

For the first time in the history of Nigeria, Jonathan and PDP introduced ethnic politics in Lagos. Using money in local and foreign currencies, religion, ethnicity, hate speeches, unwarranted and fake promises, PDP unleashed unbelievable vicious propaganda and at once put a knife on things that have held Yoruba and Igbo together since the inception of Nigeria. Even after the election the gap between Yoruba and Igbo in Lagos has continues to widen courtesy of PDP’s ethnic, religious and tribal politics to steal Lagos at all cost. Real Lagosians whether Yoruba, Igbo or other ethnic groups saw all this and eloquently spoke with their votes. Again, Action Carry Consequences!

PDP Lagos spent millions buying Permanent Voters Cards in Lagos and all over Nigeria thinking that Card Reader will not be used but Professor Jega put spanners in their works. The moment it became obvious that Card Reader will be introduced, the multi million naira project of PVC collection collapsed like a pack of cards and PDP lost everything. Time and space will not permit to tell the whole story of how PDP destroyed itself completely in Lagos as it may take a book to do so. PDP played to the gallery in an attempt to grab Lagos by all means. When you follow the wrong roads all the time you may never find the right road. PDP betrayed the confidence of Lagosians and Nigerians which neither personal wealth nor power can suppress.

Every Sunday Lagos PDP dish out blatant lies to Lagosians in order to remain in the news but nobody is deceived. Nobody takes Lagos PDP serious any longer. Last Sunday, they issued another Press Release that Governor Ambode borrowed 40billion naira from World Bank. Now is this news? 40billion naira is less than two months IGR in Lagos. It is nothing to Lagos if PDP understands the economy of Lagos. PDP has never ruled Lagos and may never understand the dynamics of Lagos economy. Governor Ambode is an experienced Chattered Accountant, a bean counter for that matter who knows how to manage resources. Again Lagos PDP says Ambode cannot manage corruptions. Now does PDP think that it is in the same pedestal with APC? APC represents change, while PDP represents corruption, impunity and violence. APC represents ideas while PDP lies and brigandage. APC represents hope while PDP represent hopelessness.

Yesterday, the APC National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed told National Publicity Secretary of PDP Mr. Olisa Metuh that “To be in the opposition does not mean you have to constitute yourself to a nuisance by rushing to the Press with all sorts of hot air statements. It is the quality, rather than the frequency, of your interventions that make you relevant as an opposition in a democracy”

Today, I want Lagos PDP to learn from Lai Mohammed thoughts and be wise. Action Carry Consequences!

Joe Igbokwe
Lagos

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