LAGOS — THE Alliance for Democracy (AD) Lagos State Chapter, has warned President Olusegun Obasanjo to forget about “capturing” Lagos State by all means come 2007, saying “Alliance for Democracy is battle ready to defend the mandate of the people at all times and counter any moves by any person or group to illegally usurp power in Lagos State.”
Reacting to media reports credited to President Obasanjo in Osun State that the PDP will “capture” Lagos State come 2007, the AD however, described the statement as a confirmation of the president’s support for the action of members of PDP in the state, led by Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe.
Chairman of the party in the state, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, at a press conference in Lagos vowed that Lagos State would remain firmly in the grip of the AD come 2007, regardless of the antics adopted by the PDP to realise its ultimate ambition of capturing the state.
His words: “In a democracy, the citizens’ right to protest is guaranteed. It is this coveted hard-won right of free-expression, the very essence of our democracy, that the PDP controlled Federal Government is striving to abolish.
“We are saying loud and clear today that we will not be muzzled by the quasi-military style of President Obasanjo; the era of autocracy is over, and by the grace of God, a closed chapter in the history of Nigeria.”
Ogunleye advised PDP and the FG that the only wise path is to come down from the olympian heights and listen to the voice of the governed. He stressed that President Obasanjo should wake up from the dangerous and ultimately self destructive illusion that he or the party could impose a one-party state on a country as complex and diverse as Nigeria.
Accusing PDP of being a bad loser following AD resounding victory at the last elections, Prince Ogunleye stated: “It has been trying hard to get through criminal violence and disrespect for the law, the power it could not win through the ballot box in this state. Recently in Osogbo, Osun State, President Olusegun Obasanjo told the Southwest caucus of the PDP that the party will “capture” Lagos State come 2007.”
“This statement again reveals the PDP’s disdain for the people who they regard as potential prisoners of war. Their military background has clearly made it impossible for the PDP leadership to distinguish between democracy and warfare. Let us firmly assure the PDP at this point that the AD is battle ready to defend the mandate of the people at all times. Our teeming supporters will not sit back and allow a gang of lawless vandals to illegally usurp power in Lagos State. Let those who are plotting to impose autocratic rule in Lagos State remember that throughout history the tree of liberty has been watered with the blood of tyrants, let the wise take heed and beware lest they sow an evil wind and reap the whirlwind of self-destruction.
He noted that Mr. President’s unfortunate statement in Osun State only goes to confirm that he has lent the weight of his exalted office to the atrocities being committed by he PDP to destabilise and overthrow democracy in Lagos State.
