The All Progressives Congress in Lagos State says it is practically impossible for the Peoples Democratic Party to take control of the state.
The party therefore, said it was not surprised that the Lagos State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal struck out a petition filed by the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.
Prior to the court ruling, the PDP had held high hopes that the victory of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode would be upturned at the tribunal and had expressed the confidence that Agbaje would ‘recover his stolen mandate’.
Reacting to the court’s ruling, however, the Lagos APC said it was obvious from the outset that Ambode’s victory would be upheld.
In a statement by its publicity secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, the governing party said that the possibility of the PDP winning the governorship race was as impossible as “a goat giving birth to a lion”.
It said the tribunal’s verdict remains a huge testimony that the people of the state know their leaders and their leaders know them.
The statement read, “The PDP in Lagos had said they did everything to win Lagos, including setting one ethnic group against the other, dishing out millions of dollars and pound sterling, unleashing ethnic militias like the Oodua People’s Congress, deploying security agencies, SURE-P outlaws and others to harass and intimidate Lagosians to succumb and surrender Lagos to them.
“Lagos PDP failed because there is no meeting point between light and darkness, no meeting point between the serious and the unserious, no meeting point between conservatives and progressives, and no meeting point between performers and underperformers.
“How can you move a car forward by engaging the reverse gear? How can you plant cassava and hope to harvest yam? Can a goat give birth to a lion?
“The truth is that Lagos has always been in the hands of progressives since it was created in 1967 and the strong and dynamic Lagos will continue to remain in the hands of the progressives for a long time to come. Progressives will continue to strive for greater heights in raising standards not only in Lagos but the whole of Nigeria”.
While congratulating Ambode on his victory at the tribunal, the APC urged him to improve on the performance of his predecessor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.