The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State requested on Friday that their petition at the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal be heard as soon as possible.
“The facts of the petition bother on four grounds of non-compliance warranting disqualification of Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his Deputy, Dr Hamzat Kadri Obafemi declared as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as another four grounds of non-compliance warranting disqualification of the Labour Party (LP) Governorship Candidate, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour who was declared to have scored the second-highest number of votes in the election.
“We in the Lagos State PDP believe that after over one month of the submission of the petition and after both the APC and Labour have submitted their responses and we have also responded to their responses, then the matter should begin in earnest.
“While we are not trying to interfere with the activities of the court, we believe that time is of the essence and that the earlier the issues are resolved the better as democracy appears to be on trial in the cosmopolitan state,” the PDP stated in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Hakeem Amode.
The PDP and its governorship candidate, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (JANDOR) are calling for the disqualification of the APC and LP and their candidates for the March 18, 2023 election for substantial non-compliance with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended).
The petition marked EPT/LAG/GOV/01/2023 dated April 7, 2023, listed INEC; Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his Deputy, Dr Hamzat Kadri Obafemi; the Labour Party (LP)Governorship Candidate, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour; and the Labour Party respectively, as1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th respondents.
The PDP and its candidate in in their petition are claiming that at the time of the governorship election held on March 18, 2023, Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, and Rhodes-Vivour were not qualified to contest the election and therefore prayed that all votes cast for them in the election be declared wasted.
While thanking the people of Lagos State and Nigerians in general for their perseverance in the last eight years of APC administration, Amode stated that the PDP is ready to provide purposeful leadership and expressed hope that the injustices done during the election would be redressed.
He said, “Our party is ever ready to provide quality leadership for the people of the state compared to the current situation. We have much belief in the judiciary and we know that all the issues raised would be painstakingly considered so that the people of Lagos State would enjoy a new lease of life.
“We however believe that there is no denying the fact that the last eight years have been very tough for the people of Nigeria owing to the harsh economic policies of the outgoing federal government.
“This, by extension, affected the teeming residents of Lagos State, and theirs is even more complicated as the state has been under the rule of one individual directly and by proxy since 1999.
“We in the Lagos State PDP believe that hope is on the way for the residents of the state. We are not discouraged by the results of the last general elections; both at the federal and the state levels, as we believe that the right thing would soon be done, especially as our party is in court to challenge the results of the elections.”
He assured that the PDP will continue to serve the interest of residents of Lagos State.
He further said, “As a party, the PDP will continue to serve the interest of residents of Lagos State and we are prepared to liberate our people from the shackles of the APC in the state. We can all see what the PDP is doing in Osun State, where Gov Ademola Adeleke has been making waves since he took over the mantle of leadership in the state. We hope to replicate things like this in Lagos State under our party.
“The PDP looks forward to taking over the leadership of Lagos State very soon so that the residents of the state can start enjoying true governance. The time has indeed come for Lagosians to benefit from the wealth of their state and have a feeling of true democracy under a PDP-led government.
“Residents of Lagos State cannot continue to suffer amidst plenty and the essence of democracy is for the people to be taken care of and allowed to benefit from the commonwealth of their state rather than watching a set of people mismanaging what God Almighty has endowed them with,” the statement said.