Endorsing Sanwo-Olu Was In The Best Interest Of The Igbo In Lagos, Says Ohanaeze

                     

The Lagos State Chapter of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo says it endorsed Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor-elect of Lagos State, who emerged on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the interest of the Igbo in the state.

Solomon Ogbonna, President of the Lagos State chapter of the group, said this in an interview with The Sun newspaper, published on Wednesday.

Ogbonna affirmed that the Igbo supported Jimi Agbaje, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, but made a change in 2019 in its best interest.

He said: "Politics is dynamic, and so are the politicians. I supported Jimi in 2015, but a lot of things have happened since then, including the fact that I was elected President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State in 2018. My political decisions must take into consideration the interest of my followers. A critical analysis of the politics of Lagos State shows that PDP has been in opposition since the inception of the present democracy. So, whoever is supporting PDP in Lagos State is automatically in opposition.

"Furthermore, the APC-led government in Lagos State has not been doing badly, and we need to support it. The Igbo living and doing business in Lagos have to join the moving train. So, in 2019, we took decision to vote for the APC candidate in the governorship election."

He also corrected the notion that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo at the national level, supported the PDP, saying that the body only supported the Atiku/Obi presidential ticket.

“The endorsement was for Atiku/Obi presidential ticket. At the governorship election, the politics became local, and it was for the individual local branches to take decisions that best suited the Igbo in the respective localities. So, my decision to endorse Sanwo-Olu was in the best interest of the Igbo in Lagos State. We have to identify with the government of our host state, so we can derive maximum benefit from the administration,” he said.

He denied allegations that APC gave him N250 million, describing the allegation as laughable.

He said: “APC administration frowns at money politics, and that is the reason, the security operatives seized huge sums of money brought into the country to monetise the electoral process.



"There is a ceiling to the amount each candidate can spend. So, I wonder, how much billions of Naira it would amount to, if Sanwo-Olu was sharing N250m to each individual or group. So, the allegation is laughable.”