27th January, 2011
The Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs prefers to keep mum over the candidate to support for the Governorship seat in Lagos, South West Nigeria but dropped the hint that they might back Governor Babatunde Fashola for a second term in office.
After the council’s meeting in Lagos on Wednesday, P.M.NEWS asked the obas who they would support between the incumbent governor, Fashola and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Ade Dosunmu and there was uproar and giggles in the conference room of the Lagos State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs where the meeting held.
Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu answered on behalf of the obas, saying that Fashola and Dosunmu were their children and that they could not disclose who to support for the governorship position.
Indication that the obas might support Fashola emerged as Akiolu said “everybody knows what is good for Lagos State. It is left for us to choose what to do.
“We have seen the progress God gave to us in this state and we know where we are going,†he said.
On the ongoing voter registration exercise, the Council of Obas called for extension since many people would be disenfranchised if the exercise was to end on Saturday.
Akiolu said he had already written to President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Fashola and the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega on the need to extend the exercise so that eligible voters could be registered to vote at the coming polls.
The oba called on his colleagues to go out to their community and mobilise the people to go out and register and called for support for Jega so that he could succeed in the exercise.
“It is necessary to passionately appeal to Jonathan for extension of time in order to have all Lagosians who are 18 years and above to get registered.
“The council wants to put on record that during the first week of the exercise, no registration took place in most parts of Lagos State owing to reasons ranging from faulty machines, lack of necessary materials, inexperienced officials handling the equipment, among others,†he stated.
“As part of our quest to ensure improvement, we strongly appeal to Jega led-INEC, the National Assembly and other stakeholders in the ongoing exercise to work concertedly in order to salvage the situation as well as extend the closing date of the exercise so that eligible voters who are yet to register would not be denied their civic responsibility,†he added.
The Council of Obas also called on various communities, captains of industry and well meaning Nigerians in the state not to be deterred by the lapses being experienced during the exercise but go out to register.
“This will validate their rights to elect persons of their choice during the forthcoming general elections. The council has advised its members to sensitise all prospective voters in their domains irrespective of their religion, ethnic or political affiliation to come out en-masse to register,†he said.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga
