Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Dr Abdul-Azeez Adediran on Tuesday appealed to security agencies to step up security at the general elections.
He told a news conference that increased security was necessary for voters to choose leaders of their choices.
Adediran commended the Inspector General of Police, Mr Usman Baba, for boosting the courage of voters with some actions after repeated attacks on PDP campaign trains.
He also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for assuring security at the polls.
“Let us have an atmosphere where people can come out and exercise their franchise. There is no point in anybody stocking up arms; let the people decide.
“Let me use this opportunity to appreciate all security formations – the military, the police and others.
“We have seen the memo everywhere; you (security agencies) have been able to express your readiness. I want to beg that you sustain this till the elections and after,’’ he said.
The candidate stressed that only adequate security would ensure that voters cast their votes without being coerced.
“We have repeatedly called on the Inspector-General of Police to step up his game on the several threats, especially in Lagos. This, for us, is worrisome.
“However, so far, so good, the I-G is not sleeping on it. We have seen a whole lot of changes between that time and now,’’ he added.
Adediran, who urged the Federal Government to curtail violence in any form or shape, enjoined voters to turn out to vote all PDP candidates.
He urged Nigerians, especially voters in Lagos State to first understand where the nation was coming from and where it was headed before taking a decision at Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to him, the best of the current administration is not good enough for ordinary Nigerians, hence the need to vote for PDP’s presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Adediran stressed that Abubakar had solutions to the economic hardship and security challenges facing the country.
He added that the 2023 general elections provided the opportunity for Nigerians to right the wrongs.
“Our party’s flag-bearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar with just one of his policies will address two major issues confronting us – economic woes and insecurity.
“Atiku’s promise to set aside 10 billion dollars for women and youth empowerment will reduce poverty, revamp the economy and reduce insecurity, as youths will be profitably engaged.
“When refineries are brought back to life under a private sector arrangement, there will not be any point refining our products abroad anymore. This will also generate employment,’’ he said.
According to him, only Atiku has come up with a clear cut policy to recover and revitalise the economy.
“In all of the candidates, only Atiku is presidential. Atiku Abubakar even in the face of provocation from everybody has remained so calm.
No one sees him uttering any derogatory word against any of the candidates.
“He speaks to issues and peculiarity of each state. This is the man that we are following and this is the man that can take Nigeria out of its current situation,’’ Adediran said.
He noted that he had visited 193 electoral wards out of the 245 wards in Lagos State to solicit votes, and that he had seen the state of infrastructure decay and poor standard of living of the people.
The candidate promised to bring a breath of fresh air to the people of the state if elected on March 11. (NAN)
