By KEMI KASUMU
“It’s either Sanwo-Olu or nobody. Labour for this Lagos? E maa Labour ku ni. E o ni s’orire (cursing)…”
Less than a week to the second and final leg of much heavily invested Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections, an unnamed man believed to be working for the party in power in the state has released a video clip that has gone viral threatening both the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Architect Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, and his party’s supporters.
In the video, carefully washed, studied and forwarded to authorities by The DEFENDER for further investigations, the man yet to be identified and speaking in fluent code-mixing threatened to stop supporters of the Labour Party from coming out to vote thereby attempting to deprive them from exercising the constitutionally guaranteed franchise.
The video, which harped more on utterances capable of fomenting ethnic conflicts as the Nigeria’s 36 federating units ride on to the state elections, was being circulated in seeming confirmation of reported invasions of polling units during the Saturday February 25, 2023 presidential and national assembly elections in the state.
During the elections, reports had it that political thugs attacked and intimidated Labour Party supporters, also known as ‘Obidients’, who refused to be cowed and discouraged by an earlier threat on the eve of the election to instill fear in the hearts.
In the video which has gone viral on social media, the man was heard threatening the Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Architect Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, to steer clear of effort to seek to govern the state.
According to the man, also suspected to be one of the thugs causing mayhem in the state, anyone that comes out to vote on the election day of March 11 must either for the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Governorship Candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, or nobody else.
He said: “Omo iya, this is Lagos. If dem born you well, come and vote for Labour in Lagos. If you like, tell your governor, whatever you are, anything…anything, if dem born you well come and vote for Labour in Lagos. If dem born you well, come vote for Labour in Lagos, se e ni oloriiburu niyin ni (cursing)…This is Lagos.
“It’s either Sanwo-Olu or nobody. Labour for this Lagos? E maa Labour ku ni. E o ni s’orire (cursing)…”
About the LP Governorship Candidate he said, “Come vote!s Shey na Gbadebo be him name? If dem born your mama well, come be Lagos State Governor,” he concluded the threatening video.
Some concerned citizens have called on relevant authorities not to underestimate the threats whether in the video in question or through other channels, citing the violence that marred the presidential and national assembly elections penultimate Saturday in some parts of the state.
