AHEAD of the rescheduled governorship primary of Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), holding on Monday across the state, the state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on Sunday threw a bombshell, declaring that his main challenger, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu, is not fit to govern Lagos having been arrested and locked for months in the United States for spending fake dollars at a nightclub.Besides, Ambode said Sanwoolu, who has since been adopted by the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Mandate Group, a formidable group within the party fold, party leaders, several groups, among others, was on rehabilitation at the State General Hospital, Gbagada, claiming that the record was there for people to see.
Governor Ambode said this at a press conference he addressed at the Lagos House, just as he declared his readiness to contest the party’s primary exercise holding in the State, while he dismissed insinuations that there was war going on between him and the national leader of APC, Tinubu.
According to him, there is no war between him and Tinubu’s or between him and anybody, saying the whole story is about the development of Lagos and also the development of Nigeria as a country.
“In the last two or three weeks, they have been putting a lot of campaign of calumny in social media and disparaging our personality and character. But we have been extremely humble, we have never responded, we have never again abused anybody because we believe that there is always a reason for us to come together.
“We are one family in APC. Now the truth is this. The aspirant that is being put up to compete against us is not a fit and proper person. This is the truth.
“Party leaders and party members have been misled to understand that he is a better candidate than myself.
“I have done everything in the last three and a half years to serve the people and the poor. The particular aspirant had been arrested for spending fake American dollars in a night club in US. He was detained for months, the records are there.
“It is also known that he does not have the competence to do what he is being propelled to do. The records are there in Gbagada General Hospital. This is somebody that has gone for rehabilitation before. We do not want to go too far.
“We know our leadership should have a rethink because the truth is this, I will not stand here on the mandate of Lagos and allow our great party, APC to fritter that opportunity to put somebody that opposition will easily take out because of credibility. So I appeal to all our leaders they should have a rethink.
“This is not about me, it is about the greatest opportunity that APC stands to change the progress of Nigeria to a better place,” Governor Ambode said.
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