26th March, 2015
Kazeem Ugbodaga, Simon Ateba & Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta
Ahead Saturday’s Presidential election, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has appealed to Lagosians to turnout massively and vote for change, while urging them to shun violence.
Similarly, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, has advised Nigerians not to allow the on-going deployment of soldiers across the country to deter them from coming out to cast their votes on Saturday.
In his message to Lagosians on Wednesday evening in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, Fashola advised the residents to be peaceful and vigilant and to remain at the polling units after they have voted until their votes are collated and the results announced as required by the Electoral Act.
The Governor, who described the election as historic, said aside the fact that the whole world would be watching and waiting for Nigeria to set the pace as the first of the five elections that will take place in Africa this year, Saturday’s election would be remarkable for its potential to hange Nigeria.
“I think the elections will be historic because we will set an example for the whole of Africa and show that we can decide our affairs,” adding, “I know, however, that there can be no history without history makers. You, the voters, the dynamic people of the Centre of Excellence, will be the history makers,” he said.
Fashola said one of the reasons why Lagosians must go out enmasse to cast their votes on Saturday was in order to be part of history, adding that it would be a pride in future for them to be able to tell their children and grandchildren that they were among those who participated fully in the general elections that changed Nigeria.
The Governor also advised that voters should wash their hands with soap before going out for accreditation in order to make it easy for the Card Readers to identify them adding, “as I have said before, this is a clean hands election.”
Fashola attacked President Jonathan at another event on Wednesday for using the state government’s achievements in office to campaign, saying it was deceitful for the president to be lying to the public.
The Governor who spoke at the draw for Lagos Homes Ownership Scheme at the Lagos City Hall said he was reading one of the dailies on Wednesday and that Jonathan listed as part of his achievements the ongoing construction of the Adiyan Phase II water works.
“That advertorial is a lie. Lagos State government under my administration is the one building the waterworks. If the president wants to lie in order to win election, it is a very low point in the presidency (for the presidential election). There are many other things that were also said in the advertorial.
“In the advertorial, the president claimed that they have fixed the Airport road and built Primary Health care Centres in Lagos State, those who use the PHC know the people you see there. Many may not know about the project because it is yet to be completed. That project is being built and funded by the taxes paid by the residents of Lagos State. And if the Presidential campaign is based on lies, it shows how deeply corruption has entered and rooted in the leadership of this country today. You can lie about the project that is not yours in order to deceive people for vote,” he lamented, adding “I urge you to vote on Saturday to put an end to this government at the centre.”
In his admonition to the voters, Governor Amosun urged Nigerians to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and ensure that they do not give any opportunity to some ill-motivated politicians, who obviously have no respect for the rights of the people to freely choose their leaders.
Amosun appealed to the soldiers not to allow any politician to use them to wreak havoc or intimidate the people before and during the election.
Governor Amosun, who is the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in next month’s governorship election, advised all eligible voters in the state, who are yet to collect their Permanent Voters’ Card, PVC, to quickly go and get it, saying “every vote will count in the coming elections”.
Meanwhile, international companies have shut down, while flights are fully booked at the Lagos international and local airports as expatriates and other foreigners are travelling out of the country in droves ahead of the election.
Our correspondent who has been covering aviation since 2008 said he had never seen such an unprecedented crowd of passengers at the airport.
The road to the airports were crawling with heavy traffic on Thursday morning as passengers rushed to board the planes.
A few business class seats were available but sold out for almost N50,000 for Lagos-Abuja trip.
Those travelling are scared of the likely fallout of the election which has generated tension all over the country.
Already, soldiers have been deployed all over the country in flagrant violation of a court ruling last week that it is unconstitutional to deploy soldiers for election duties.