
Chief Tunji Shelle
The All Progressives Congress Lagos state Chapter has asked the
chairman of Lagos PDP Mr. Tunji Shelle to resign for deceiving his party
and Lagosians which led to their crushing and debilitating defeat in
the last general elections. In a release signed by APC State
Publicity Secretary, Mr Joe Igbokwe, the party says Shelle should have
resigned honourably and given way to a more competent person having lost
the governorship elections in 2011 and 2015 in Lagos State.
“All
over the world when a chairman of a party becomes a serial loser he
does not need anybody to counsel him to leave the stage for fresh hands
but not Shelle of Lagos PDP. If he is not blaming party leaders, he
turns his miserable searchlight to the opposition and now he is blaming
the former president Jonathan.
“The totally devastated Shelle who
has been suffering votes of no confidence since the last elections told
his party members in Amuwo Odofin Lagos that former president Jonathan
allowed APC to get away with a lot of illegalities during the last
elections which led to his own defeat. According to Shelle if Jonathan
had won the presidential elections, PDP would have used Soldiers,
Police, DSS, SSS, Civil Defence etc. to steal Lagos.
“Now, Tunji
Shelle must be told that the day Jonathan picked the PDP ticket for the
presidential elections was the day he lost the election. Jonathan
should not have contested in 2011 given the political arrangement put
in place after the June 12, 1993 election crisis to rotate power between
the North and the South every eight years,” said Igbokwe.
According to the APC scribe, “there was no way Jonathan would have won
with eleven states in SS and SE against 25 states in the SW, NE, NW and
NC. Two small zones in the SE and SS would not have defeated the four
big zones of SW, NC, NE and NW. Even if SS and SE voted 150% beyond
Mathematics, Jonathan would not have won that election. In fact, the
millions of votes Jonathan got was padded. That was the permutations,
calculations and analysis empty heads and peevish school boys in PDP
failed to take into consideration.
“In Lagos, Shelle was a living
witness to many illegalities PDP and the law enforcement agencies
unleashed on Lagosians. PDP illegally set up SURE-P Recruitment Centre
at old Toll Gate in Lagos and used it to fleece unsuspecting Lagosians
of their hard earned money in the name of providing jobs for them.
Shelle waited until PDP lost Lagos for him to tell the world that one
man who had dubious courage defrauded Lagosians.
“Where was Shelle
when PDP unleashed OPC illegally on Lagosians one Monday morning from
the old toll gate to the National Stadium, grounding Lagos, bearing
guns, machetes, destroying all APC Campaign materials with the help of
the police along that corridor, shouting that Jega must go and that PVC
and Card Readers should not be used? Where was Shelle when Jonathan
brought millions of dollars and pound sterling to throw around in Lagos
and consequently divided Lagos along ethnic lines, which nearly caused
xenophobic attacks in the metropolis?
“Where was Shelle when one
Segun Adewale (Aeroland) and one Raheem were brandishing guns and
shooting people in Alimosho, Lagos while APC was busy campaigning? Where
was Shelle when PDP imposed Jim Agbaje on the party at Oregun, Ikeja,
Lagos which led to massive shootings and stampede? Where was Shelle
when his PDP left the campaigns to win elections and resorted to
shooting APC members in Lagos Island? The truth is that Lagos PDP
introduced dangerous ethnic politics in Lagos which was not enough to
make Jimi Agbaje the governor.”
Igbokwe further queried: “Did
Shelle see all the hate campaign PDP and its agents dished out in the
bid to tear president Buhari down and yet the man ran away with victory?
Shelle may not know this, most of the campaign advertorials PDP pushed
out to sell Jonathan ended up being used to sell candidate Buhari. The
Campaign worked heavily for PMB instead of Jonathan.
“Lagos APC
insists that Shelle should stop crying over spilled milk and face
realities. Old ways will never open new doors. PDP has played their
last card in Nigeria and Lagos and it will take years for this party to
rise again in this country”
“Excuses and more excuses can never
help Shelle and PDP. Governor Ambode defeated Jimi Agbaje with more than
150,000 votes even with their illegalities, money politics and ethnic
politics. This is a lesson. Let Shelle resign and give way for a fresh
hand to help the party. This is the path of honour.”