Politics

Lagos: What PDP need do right to win – Otunba Segun

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5 years ago

April 25, 2021

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Ahead of the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party’s, Congress, a foremost Chieftain of the party Otunba Segun Adewale (aka Aeroland) has proffered workable measures to restore PDP’s dignity and guarantee better political fortunes in coming elections.

Adewale who has been a goal getting politician, cut out for positive results has raised posers on why PDP often recorded abysmal outcomes in various polls in the state.

Otunba Adewale appraised the situation in a chronological order, alleging that the feigned victories of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Lagos in times past is made possible by PDP members, who are loyal to APC and at one time or the other betrayed the trust of the party to do APC’s bidding for pecuniary gains.

“Enough of PDP members aiding and abetting purported Bola Ahmed Tinubu corrupt activities, running into trillions of naira and billions of dollars,APC has never won elections in Lagos State without the help of PDP members.

“They often compromised the State INEC to twist things around in their favour,this is a practice sustained over two decades now, as they also engage area boys and security agencies to distrupt elections wherever our foot soldiers refused to sell their conscience for paltry sums.

Marshalling his already mapped out strategies capable of delivering unfettered victory to PDP at any poll in future, Aeroland maintained that a cursory look need be fixed on the welfare and individual capacity of party agents at the polling units and especially the collation centres, to ensure no trade off.

“If a particular set of people are the ones representing us at the collation centres, they should be changed because they have failed us repeatedly for the past 21 years,they should not be allowed to represent us anymore.

“You can hardly see a none indigene that will sell his vote or conscience for one thousand naira at the polling booths, I am making that point with all sense of modesty not to spite my Yoruba people.

“So when you are puting people at the polling booths let it be one Yoruba and one none indigene,if you can do that there is no way we will lose these elections because the elections are actually won and lost at the collation centres.

“To corroborate my assertions,it is quite clear that APC finds it hard to win wherever our men refused to be bought over,this affirms that PDP members are the ones winning for APC.

“In such areas they often resort to the use of their thugs to disrupt elections or compromise INEC to announce wrong results.

“So we need to put people who are not easy to buy over with crumbs at the collation centres, our boys should be better sensitized and mobilized to guide their votes against APC’S hooligans and thugs.

“I have often won elections in Alimosho as communicated by INEC officials who have called to tell me, “Mr Aeroland congratulations you won”, and the person representing me at the collation point will say no APC won, a case in reference is that of G North or South in Alimosho and even in ward C, where the result confirmed that I won but the man at the polling unit insisted we lost.

“That is what happens most times that APC is perceived a formidable option, no APC is not popular neither is it on ground. All we need is to stop putting jobless and hungry individuals who can be easily bought by APC at sensitive posts during elections.

“People hate APC with passion,imagine the arbitrary taxation,towing and impounding of vehicles, all manners of draconian rules in Lagos now, you can’t open your business till 12 midnight, so who loves to vote for such a party?

He maintained that issue of deliberate infiltration by APC into the PDP’S internal mechanisms is also a problem which need to be confronted headlong.

“Almost 60 percent of PDP members are indirectly APC lackeys, so they work with their men inside the PDP, ensured their men occupy positions of power like ward Chairmen,Local Government Chairmen and even State Chairman.

” Moreso a lot of people who have supported us in time past in areas like Matori in Mushin and elsewhere have called me to narrate their traumatic experience.

“Their businesses were destroyed by APC government because they supported PDP and till now not even a call was put across to them to console them,this kind of people need be favoured in our political allotments going forward.”

Adewale however, charged the party hierarchy in Lagos to ensure the restoration of credibility at the upcoming state congress, noting that it is a precursor for the eventual emergence of credible candidates and party officials,

adding that none indigenes should be decisively accomodated.

“We have concentrated on the indigenes-Yoruba people since inception of PDP in Lagos, what have we achieved? Zero, it is high time we worked with the none indigene,let them be ably represented.

“Wherever we have two Yorubas, we should put one none indigene there,where they are three we should put two none indigenes because if we look at the statistics too the none indigene are well represented in Lagos.

“The Igbos,South-south and Northerners are everywhere in Lagos;in Ikorodu and elsewhere, in fact one of the bane of our party not winning elections is our leaders refusal to recognise the none indigenes.

“The none indigenes should be at the fore front if you intend to win elections, although PDP has been the ones winning elections for APC ever since, either at the local government or state and even federal level,we had not in real terms lost any elections.

“When we have a Chairman who is an indigene, at least his Deputy or vice should be a none indigene from South-south or South-east, they should be represented and there are some local governments dominated by none indigenes,so when giving or allocating tickets those people should be recognised.

These right individuals will ensure right people are in place at the collation centres with the right motivations.

By this strategy, we will checkmate the APC bringing out boys that are even stronger than MC Oluomo,in all the local governments,we have them but their efforts are not being recognised by the leadership of the party.

At this forthcoming state congress the none indigenes should be well represented, this equitable and fair practices should go round all the local governments,once an indigene is picked as Chairman he or she should be seconded by a none indigene as Vice,there is even nothing stopping us from having a none indigene as Chairman in their areas of dominance.

It is only a mad man that will be doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result, our elections are lost most times are the collation centres,who are the people there? They are the ones selling us out.”

Adewale added that campaign money is another instrument that must be deployed discreetly during an electoral process and that it should never be allocated to an individual/ candidate but to the candidates and the executives and leaders in that particular local government.

As many candidates who haven’t seen hundreds of millions naira before end up bolting away with the money, rather than face the elections,we have cases to cite for reference everywhere.

So each local government and their representatives should collect campaign funds for further disbursements.

“For instance,I have ones collected 178m naira during Agbaje 2015 governorship election and instead of taking the money to my house, I took it to an hotel called the party LG Chairman, elected candidates, ward chairmen , party excos across the 11wards and shared the money accordingly.

“I left the hotel with 1m naira alloted for my ward. I further called the ward chairman and excos,leaders and shared to zones accordingly.

Most times our governorship candidates are not ready to win elections,they only wait for the election campaign monies running into billions. It was evident in the last election where our governorship candidate refused to campaign.

Now we need credible candidates who are not easily swayed by pecuniary gains and that can only be achieved through credible free and fair primaries.

We must commence in earnest prior the elections, our would be agents must have something doing and their bio data should be taken now, they should be responsible individuals who can’t be bought over or connive with APC to rig elections. “Imagine a person like Aeroland who will buy me over,at what cost? We need wear our thinking caps to salvage the situation, people are suffering.” Said Otunba Adewale.