‘APC unhappy over LP non-violent conduct’

National Youth Leader of the Labour Party (LP), Kennedy Ahanotu, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was disgruntled when members of the Labour Party LP) declined to engage in chaotic conduct following the wrongful declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the purported winner of February 25  presidential poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He also said it was surprising to see the APC stage-managing all manner of baseless propaganda to misrepresent “our collective sense of equity and justice,” stressing that the calls by the APC and its sympathisers for the arrest of Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed should stop forthwith. He said LP has already obeyed the ‘go to court’ order and was already in court to reclaim its stolen mandate.

He warned that the continued intimidation and molestation of the Igbo in Lagos if not stopped immediately is an invitation to national instability, as Nigerians must live as free citizens wherever they are in any part of the  country.

Speaking at a press conference in Owerri, Imo State, yesterday, the National Youth leader of the Labour Party, claimed those who were wrongfully declared have not been celebrating but rather have been calling for the arrest of those whose mandate was stolen.

He said: “Today, those who were wrongfully declared are not even celebrating but are surprisingly calling for the arrest of those whose mandate were stolen and have obeyed the instruction to ‘go to court’. We are in court already.

“Since after the election, the opposition, especially APC, expected violent resistance, but “we beat them to it and conducted ourselves in a most civil manner. I recall with keen interest what happened in 2011 general election that Buhari lost, and even June 12.

“It’s surprising to see the APC stage-managing all manner of baseless propaganda to misrepresent our collective sense of equity and justice.

“We must go to the archives to ascertain that during the campaigns, it was only the APC presidential candidate and spokespersons that were caught on videos promoting violence, especially Bola Tinubu who openly asked his supporters to fight, snatch, grab, and run with our collective mandate; and that was exactly what APC supporters did in Lagos State, Rivers State and many other states across the country.

“My president in waiting was always sounding modest, issue-based and never encouraged violence by the way he conducted himself. Hence, Nigerians of goodwill voted massively for him. Obi and Datti were the only candidates who concentrated campaigns on issues of national unity, best interest, development, and economic prosperity.

“The various call for the arrest of Obi and Datti should stop forthwith as we the Obidient youths have cast our final hopes on the judiciary; and we shall be in the courts to observe every process for future reference.

We pass a vote of confidence in the judiciary. We refuse to accept the insinuation that the judiciary has been cowed and pocketed by powers that be to subvert justice and popular wishes of Nigerians.”

“The open attack on the Igbo in Lagos, where Tinubu is said to hail from is a clear proof to the threats and commands by notable APC supporters in Lagos, which the police never took serious when they termed Dayo Israel and MC Oluomo’s threats as a joke.”

Ahanotu called on the Nigerian security agencies to employ high level of professional conduct in executing their jobs and desist from being a ready tools in the hands of power-drunk politicians who have kept Nigeria below the bars of international standards.