The Yoruba Self Determination Advancement Forum has said the group will liase with other ethnic nationalities in Lagos State to rescue the state from what it described as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu hegemony ahead of the 2019 elections.
The forum’s convener, Kunle Adesokan, said this at an event in Lagos on Wednesday where the group endorsed the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Mr Jimi Agbaje.
Adesokan said the forum, a coalition of over 60 self-determination groups, would liase with other ethnic groups and all categories of people in the state to convince them to vote for Agbaje and put an end to the dominance of Tinubu in Lagos politics.
He said the people of the state had been pauparised in the name of urban renewal while businesses had been paralysed for almost 20 years because of just one man.
Adesokan, who said the people of the state had high hope in 1999 when the nation returned to democracy, regretted that the hope had given way to disillusionment because the state was brought under the bondage of an individual.
He said, “Our concern, simply put is that the 2019 governorship election in Lagos State offers a golden opportunity for the actualisation of the rescue mission towards popular democratic inclusion and good governance.
“Consequently, we have made conscious and dispassionate observation of the activities, posturing and pronouncements of all governorship candidates of various parties including the ruling All Progressives Congress and have decided to publicly adopt the aspiration of Mr Olujimi Kolawole Agbaje as the right and proper candidate that should be supported in the 2019 governorship poll in Lagos State.
“We are irrevocably committed to taking the message of hope which Mr Jimi Agbaje represents to the electorate who, for close to decades, have been desirous of freedom from the political hegemony of one man.”
The forum’s Secretary, Kola Are, said Tinubu had been the one ruling the state since the days of the Alliance for Democracy to the APC and not his party, saying that was why he had been installing and removing governors.
Are said, “This rescue mission is not for us alone. Lagos is under bondage of one man and not a political party but it is going to be a fight between Lagosians and Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is being represented by Sanwo-Olu.
“We have the mechanism to liase with other ethnic nationalities to join hands with us to rescue the state and we will achieve this.”
Are alleged that Agbaje won the governorship election held in 2015 but that the result was manipulated in favour of the then APC candidate, Mr Akinwumi Ambode.
He, however, said such manipulation would not be allowed in 2019 while urging the people of the state to support Agbaje.
