The
Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr Jimi Agbaje,
has attributed his defeat at the poll to the suppression of votes in areas
where he was strong.
Agbaje
said this during an exclusive interview with Punch shortly after the result
of the governorship election was announced.
The PDP
candidate also lamented the low voter turnout in Lagos State which was less
than 20 per cent of the total number of persons that collected Permanent Voter
Cards.
He said
the threats, coupled with the manner in which the presidential election was
conducted, led to the voter apathy witnessed in the nation’s commercial nerve
centre.
The PDP
candidate said, “From the outset it was clear that the numbers were on our side
and naturally, that was our comparable strength but the moment you had the
numbers slashed, then we were at a disadvantage.
“The
strategy of the other side was to make sure that those numbers did not come out
to vote and to that extent it has worked in their favour.”
Agbaje
said many of his supporters were intimidated and even threatened with eviction
and sack if the PDP won in their areas.
He said
rather than risk their lives and their livelihood, the people decided to sit at
home which gave his opponent the upper hand.
The PDP
candidate added, “It is not good for our democracy when only about 20 per cent
come out to vote. There was voter apathy because of the event that happened
during the presidential election.”
Agbaje
said voter apathy would continue as long as people believed that their votes
would not count.
When asked
if he would be challenging the outcome of the election in court, Agbaje said he
would refrain from making comments for now.
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