‘Sheer falsehood’ — Lagos APC denies masterminding violence during guber poll

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos has denied claims that its members perpetrated violence during the March 18 governorship election in the state.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Seye Oladejo, Lagos APC spokesperson, asked the opposition parties in the state to “stop playing the victim”.

On Monday 20, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Babajide Sanwo-Olu, candidate of the APC, as the winner of the election.

Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos, polled 762,134 votes to win the election for a second term of four years.

The Labour Party (LP) came second with 312,329 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) trailed in third place with 62,449 votes.

In the build-up to the election, there were divisive statements made on and off social media — a situation that led to attacks on some voters during the election.

However, there have been claims that thugs who attacked voters during the election were sponsored by the APC.

Speaking on the development, Oladejo accused the opposition parties in the state of peddling “false narratives” and deploying ethnicity into the electioneering process.

The Lagos APC spokesperson claimed that many of his party members were attacked during the governorship election.

“Many false narratives have been put in the public space by the aggressors in the last election, who have turned round to shed crocodile tears in their bid to play the victim,” Oladejo was quoted by NAN.

“The elections have been won and lost. It is time for all patriotic citizens to concentrate on building our dear state and, by extension, the nation.

“But, this is not the thinking of the opposition, who have shown that they lack the true spirit of sportsmanship.

“It is on record that there are 13,325 polling units in Lagos state and there were reports of disturbances in about 130 or one percent of all the polling units.

“I think that is too infinitesimal for anyone to rely upon to say that the election was not free and fair.

“In other words, under no circumstance can we say the incidents invalidated the credibility of the elections.

“We also need to state that the false alarm that members of the APC perpetrated violence during the election cannot be substantiated. It is sheer falsehood.

“The party has loyalists, members, and sympathisers in all nooks and crannies of the state. It has no reason to embrace violence.

“On the contrary, our members were mostly the victims of intimidation and violence. Many are still in hospitals where doctors are battling to save their lives.”