Mr. Sheriff Balogun, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has thrown his weight behind Akinwumi Ambode, the governor of Lagos State, for a second term in office.
Balogun, former sole administrator of Surulere local government area, also dismissed the endorsement of Babajide Sanwo-Olu by the party’s leaders and major stakeholders to emerge as the candidate of the party for the governorship post in Lagos.
He said: “It is a free world. Our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said it all. He has not anointed anyone. All the aspirants are his men.
“They are free to contest in direct primaries. He asked them to exercise their rights. APC faithful will decide whoever is going to be the gubernatorial candidate of the party.”
Balogun who spoke at a gathering of APC faithful from the 20 local government areas and 37 local development area councils, commended Tinubu and other party elders for not imposing any individual on the people of Lagos State.
He said: “The people here are for the governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode. We walked from Maryland to Freedom Park on Sunday. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will win APC gubernatorial primary.
“What happened at the Lagos State APC secretariat on Saturday and what happened during the walk can tell Nigerians that Ambode has the support of APC members.”
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Advising APC members to be steadfast, Balogun said: “The people are APC faithful. They want to vote Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. They should also stand their ground. No one should be intimidated. The members should be free to vote whoever they want.”
Balogun, who rejected the gospel of endorsement, urged APC leaders to support Ambode.
“We appreciate and respect our leaders. What is on ground now is democracy at play. They led us to this point. They said we should come out and express our rights. At the end of the exercise, whoever is victorious should be appreciated. We should rally round the person.”
Pledging commitment to a level playing ground, free and fair contest, Balogun described APC members as the major power brokers.
“Everyone is entitled to his opinion. The members of the Lagos State House of Assembly are APC members. They have the right to do what they want. However, the members of the party have the right to say this is what they want. It is the primaries that would decide who holds all the aces.
Balogun said that Ambode was confident of victory.
