Ahead May 29, Lagosians list expectations from Sanwo-Olu

      By: Umar Abdulrahmon

DAYO OYEWO writes on the task before the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as he is set to begin his second term on May 29

The Nation Reporters report that the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was re-elected on Monday, after being declared the winner of the governorship election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

He polled a total of 762,134 votes, defeating Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, who had 312,329 votes, followed by Peoples Democratic Party’s Abdul-Azeez Adediran, aka Jandor, with 62,449 votes.

But prior to the governorship and House of Assembly elections, the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, lost to his LP counterpart, Mr Peter Obi, who won in the state.

Obi polled a total of 575,735 votes, while Tinubu garnered a total of 573,001 votes.

The development, however, unsettled the Lagos political space. This also inspired the LP candidates in the state as they sought to achieve a winning streak at the governorship and state Assembly polls.

This, of course, saw the major frontrunners in the governorship contest make frantic moves to canvass for votes ahead of the polls, which were later extended by a week.

Sanwo-Olu, however, fought back to win re-election three weeks after his former principal was defeated in the state.

Although there was considerable anxiety in some areas of the state leading up to the election, he was ultimately victorious at the polls.

While this was fuelled by divisive ethnic politics by some candidates, it also became a source of concern for the crusaders of one indivisible Nigeria.

In a bid to douse the tension and restore the confidence reposed on him as the number one citizen of the state, Governor Sanwo-Olu, bared his mind on the development during his acceptance speech, as he condemned ethnic profiling and promised not to pursue a divisive agenda.

He said, “During the course of the campaign, we sadly saw a lot of divisive rhetoric used. There were those who tried to make these elections about ethnicity and religion, when, in fact, they should only have been about capacity, competence, and experience.

“We saw hateful and hurtful ethnic profiling by fellow citizens—which is totally out of place for us as Lagosians, the proud residents of West Africa’s preeminent melting pot. I want to recognize and salute all of the multitudes of Lagosians who refused to succumb to those who sought and still seek to divide us with their unguarded and inciting comments.

“Unfortunately, there are reports of skirmishes in some local government areas wherein some citizens were reported to have been injured. We strongly condemn these reprehensible incidents; that is definitely not who we are as a people.