Chinelo Obogo, Lagos
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) and leader of the party in Lagos, Olabode George, has come under fire from the All Progressives Congress (APC) for accusing the national leader of the ruling party, Bola Tinubu, of rigging elections in the state.
In a statement by the state publicity secretary of the APC, Seye Oladejo, the party said George should provide leadership in his homestead before venturing into the 2023 presidential election.
It said George’s inability to deliver his polling units during elections speaks volumes about his electoral value.
In an interview George granted Daily Sun, the veteran politician said his 2023 presidential ambition is to stop Tinubu who he accused of rigging elections in Lagos State.
“One of the main reasons I’m joining the 2023 race is to stop Tinubu. If the presidency is zoned to the South-West in 2023 and Tinubu enters the race I will not only face him but also stop him. Tinubu should remember that Nigeria is a bigger constituency, it is not Lagos where Tinubu and APC have been rigging the elections’,” George said.
Responding to George’s remarks, the APC stated:
“Our attention has been drawn to the purported presidential ambition of Chief Bode George through a series of newspaper interviews.
“The dreamy Nollywood ambition itself would ordinarily not have been dignified with a response but for his focus on his political nemesis, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It’s apparent from the various interviews that Chief Bode George has a phobia for Asiwaju who he solely holds responsible for his consistent political failures since the advent of democracy in Nigeria.
“In his recent interview, he attributed his constant defeat in Lagos state to rigging. It was convenient for him to forget that he has not been able to hold Lagos State.
PDP together with all his assumed experience. His party oftentimes makes the headlines for violent crisis like rudderless sheep. The fact that PDP in Lagos state only comes alive a few months to national elections is only suggestive of political yahoo yahoo.
“Our candid advice is that Chief George should first provide leadership in his homestead before venturing beyond. His inability to deliver his polling units during elections speaks volumes about his electoral value. His major selling point of having become a state governor at 42 years and the not so glorious stint at NPA should best be confined to the dustbin of history. A word is enough for the wise. Perhaps the age of Methuselah has nothing to do with the wisdom of Solomon,” the statement read.