Kunle Awosiyan
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has condemned the campaign of ethnicity by some groups ahead of the last Saturday governorship and state house of assembly elections.
Sanwo-Olu, while giving his victory speech shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared him the winner of the polls said a lot of divisive languages, hate speeches were made by those who wanted to turn the election to ethnicity.
Sanwo-Olu polled a total of 762134 votes to defeat his closest, Labour Party, (LP) Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, who polled 312329 votes, and Dr. Olajide Adediran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 62449 votes.
However the governor praised his opponents in the election for creating a competitive political space in the state.
He said, ‘Issues of ethnicity raised by some individuals during the electoral process are not good for our democracy. Governance should be about competence and capacity.
To all my fellow contestants, I salute your participation in this democratic process, and your contribution to creating a truly competitive political space in our dear State. Please remember that there is no victor, no vanquished, in the true spirit of sportsmanship.
During the course of the campaign, we sadly saw a lot of divisive rhetoric used. There were those who tried to make these elections about ethnicity and religion, when in fact they should only have been about capacity, competence and experience.
“We saw hateful and hurtful ethnic profiling by fellow citizens – which is totally out of place for us as Lagosians, the proud residents of West Africa’s pre-eminent melting pot.
“I want to recognize and salute all of the multitudes of Lagosians who refused to succumb to those who sought and still seek to divide us with their unguarded and inciting comments’ he said
