Africa
By Victoria Frances
OLUBUNMI Odesanya, publicity secretary, Labour Party, Lagos State has chided Joe Igbokwe of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for his ill-intended advice to Igbo in Lagos and across Nigeria.
Odesanya made this known in a statement on Thursday, stating that Labour Party’s “attention has been drawn to a vexatious statement credited to Mr. Joe Igbokwe, the self-acclaimed leader of Ndigbo in APC Lagos, under the headline *”An Honest Advice For Igbo Across Nigeria Especially Lagos”.
Realnews reports that in the said piece, Igbokwe talked about the consequences of the ENDSARS protest of October 2020 and referred to those who participated in that protest as bandits. He equally warned against the participation of persons of Igbo extraction in any protest as proposed by some Northern Coalition Groups.
“What we find worrisome in his piece was where he claimed “we see hands of Labour Party followers everywhere”, Odesanya said.
According to him, “It is very curious and equally worrisome that Joe Igbokwe will, suddenly, wake up from his slumber to dream and see the hands of Labour Party followers everywhere.
“It is obvious that, Mr. Igbokwe, having been relieved of his gutter cleaning duties by the LASG, is, seriously, trying to play his way back into the hearts of his Paymasters for relevance and possible appointment. As a fact, Mr. Joe Igbokwe failed in his gutter cleaning duties as evident in the floods that have ravaged Lagos State in the last two weeks.
“Let us remind Joe Igbokwe that the right to peaceful protest is enshrined in our Constitution, same as the right to freedom of association. That Joe Igbokwe decided to clean Lagos gutters for the APC-led Government does not stop other citizens from associating with any party of their choice.
“Also, we will like to ask Joe Igbokwe if those who participated in the 2012 protests against the hike in fuel prices were equally Bandits. Recall that that the 2012 protest was against fuel price hike but what we have on our hand now is not only fuel price hike in the name of subsidy removal without proper planning but also multi-dimensional poverty, food insecurity, high inflation rate and so on.
“Our advice to our teeming members and supporters is that, since we all now aware that the target of this vicious government is to defame our Party with a view to decimating it, let us kindly conduct ourselves in the most law-abiding manner, be security conscious, make our voices be heard, if we choose to be part of the protest. It is better to be safe than sorry.
“The hunger in the land is not limited to Labour Party Supporters alone but the generality of the citizens. We are all aware that it was the APC-led FG that created the hardship Nigerians are currently facing. It is obvious that Labour Party is their nightmare, let them continue to have bad dreams.”
18th July< 224.
C.E.
Tags: OLUBUNMI Odesanya
