Congratulates Obi on winning Lagos
An Enugu-based civil society organisation, the Enugu Good Governance Group (E-3G), has said results of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections in Enugu State will not substantially influence the outcome of March 11 governorship election in the state, adding that competence, capacity and track record will count more.
The group, while also congratulating the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on an impressive presidential election outing and victory in Lagos State, also congratulated people of the state, political actors and security agencies on peaceful conduct of the election.
E-3G, in a statement, yesterday, by its National Coordinator, Odinaka Okechukwu, after a post-mortem of Saturday’s election in the state, said: “We congratulate Obi and all Obidients on a superlative outing in last Saturday’s presidential election. This is a welcome development for the nation’s democracy. Irrespective of the final outcome, winning Lagos is a clear indication of Nigerians uniting for a great course beyond ethnic, political, and religious boundaries.
“However, the truth is that the outcome of the National Assembly election, where Labour Party cleared seven out of the eight seats, does not reflect popularity and political strengths of many of the eventual winners.
“Just as it happens when you have a strong and generally accepted presidential candidate, many candidates, some of who are of questionable character, and could not ordinarily have won elections on their own merits, latched on Enugu people’s love for Obi to win National Assembly seats, as the electorate thumb-printed the Labour Party across board.
“Now that the presidential election is over, it is our thinking that people will look beyond political parties and set out to elect the most competent and credible candidate with track record of accomplishments outside political offices and patronage to govern Enugu State at a time of national economic crisis and dire development challenges in the state.
“Therefore, anybody hoping to simply ride on the Obi effect to Enugu Government House or Enugu State House of Assembly will have him or herself to blame.”
