PDP Leaders have dumped Jandor and endorsed Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour for Lagos Governor ahead of Saturday’s election.
NewsOnline reports that the Omo Eko Pataki group, led by former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Olabode George, on Thursday, March 16, 2023, endorsed the candidate of the Labour Party in Saturday’s governorship election in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
This online news platform understands that the Omo Eko Pataki group announced this at a press conference in Ikoyi attended by the LP candidate and PDP stalwarts.
Addressing journalists, George said the Omo Eko Pataki group, consisting of former deputy governor of Lagos State under Bola Tinubu, Senator Kofoworola Akerele-Buknor and Mrs Onikepo Oshodi, was born to ensure a free electoral process in Lagos.
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Speaking on Saturday, March 18 governorship election in Lagos, the group “insists on the use of electronic transfer of results rather than the unreliable, archaic, manual system.”
George used the opportunity to reiterate his claim that an appointee and surrogate of a presidential candidate was presently the man in charge of Information Technology at the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He said, “Yesterday, the INEC spokesperson said there is no such person in their organisation.
“My question is, is that fellow not a consultant/contractor for the ICT department in the INEC office? Mr. INEC spokesperson, be bold enough to tell the public what Mr. Femi Odubiyi is doing in the INEC office.
“The witch cried yesterday and the child died today. Who does not know that the witch that cried yesterday is responsible for the death of the child.
“How can we trust the outcome of a process when an examiner is associated with one of the contestants/participants? Where is transparency and fairness in this process?”
The PDP chieftain appealed to the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to do the right thing and save Nigeria from being the butt of jokes in the comity of nations.
Meanwhile, NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the endorsement is coming three days before the governorship and state assembly elections in Nigeria. On March 8, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s electoral umpire, postponed the governorship and state assembly elections till March 18.
The 2023 Governorship Election and the State Assembly election were previously scheduled to hold on March 11, but INEC, citing a logistics crisis stemming from BVAS configuration and transportation, said the election could not hold again as scheduled following a meeting of its executives on Wednesday evening.
“The elections were postponed to allow one more week for preparations,” an official familiar with the meeting told Peoples Gazette by telephone on Wednesday night. “We should be able to get everything in order before March 18.”
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Lagos Labour Party Governorship Candidate, and Jandor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are the main contenders in the 2023 Lagos election who are hoping to unseat Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as the governor of Lagos State, a post-Sanwo-Olu has held for four years.
