Awamaridi: I remain Lagos LP guber candidate — substitution primary illegal

Ifagbemi Awamaridi, Lagos chairman of the Labour Party (LP), says he has not withdrawn from contesting as the party’s governorship candidate in the 2023 elections.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, a former senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared winner of the LP substitution primary, which took place on Wednesday.

He polled 111 votes to defeat Moshood Salvador, a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who got 102 votes.

Bashiru Apapa, deputy national chairman of LP, had told journalists that Awamaridi had written formally to withdraw from the race.

He claimed that Awamaridi was a “placeholder” for the party’s governorship candidate slot.

However, speaking on Saturday at a media briefing to unveil his programmes for Lagos, Awamaridi said the substitution primary was illegal.

“I call the substitution primary conducted on Wednesday a comedy because it was against the new Electoral Act to substitute a candidate without his withdrawal notice to the INEC,” he said.

“If it were to be the substitution in the old Electoral Act, after conducting primaries, the party in its wisdom can change the candidate that won without his or her consent.

“Then, there is always a window for substitution which is different from the window for withdrawal, and the window for substitution is where you can substitute without withdrawal.

“However, the window for withdrawal is different but the new Electoral Act has nullified that because this new act now says that once you have conducted primaries supervised by INEC, you are automatically the candidate.

“What can change it is death and even the withdrawal must not be under duress. Besides, I had gone to court to declare that I have not withdrawn and I am not dead but alive, so, what else.

“It was even alleged that some people want to print my obituary and that is what I heard, and I quickly ran to INEC to show myself that I am alive.”

Awamaridi, however, pleaded with Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, to act quickly to resolve the matter in order to increase the LP’s chances of winning in 2023.