Somolu Residents Reject Lagos Lawmaker’s 5th Term Attempt, Give Reasons
- There was a mass protest by residents of Somolu on Wednesday, May 25 over the fifth term ambition of a lawmaker Hon. Rotimi Olowo
- Residents are appealing to the leadership of APC to intervene in other to stop Olowo from contesting
- Olowo is said to have been in the parliament for 15 years after first securing victory to the legislative house in 2007
Lagos, Somolu - Some residents of the Somolu area of Lagos State have sent a warning to the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to disqualify Hon. Rotimi Olowo from contesting the Somolu Constituency 1 seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The residents under the aegis of Concerned Somolu People, from Bajulaye to the APC Secretariat at Onipanu, insisted that if the APC fails to heed their call and allow Olowo to participate in the primaries, they may be forced to work against the ruling in the general elections.
Source: Facebook
They maintained that Olowo, who had been a member of the House of Assembly since 2007, cannot represent them again for a fifth term.
The residents wondered why the lawmaker would make a U-turn after declaring interest and buying the nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for the House of Representatives.
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Speaking with newsmen on behalf of the protesters, an apex leader in the area, Abraham Durojaiye explained that Olowo has represented the area for four consecutive terms and therefore should allow younger breeds to represent the Constituency.
He said:
“We have had enough of Rotimi Olowo. He has been in the House of Assembly since 2007 and he had initially openly declared interest in going to represent Somolu Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives. During the declaration, he said Lagos was too small for him to continue to operate.
“Maybe because he has seen that he cannot defeat the incumbent member of the House of Representatives, he has now started campaigning to return to the House of Assembly and he has been giving money out to some leaders to achieve this."
Somolu residents plot voting out Olowo at polls
Durojaiye urged the leadership of the APC not to allow Olowo participate in the House of Assembly primaries.
He accused Olowo of masterminding plans to buy off delegates to help support his fifth term ambition.
Durojaiye added if the leadership of the party is unwilling to to heed to the call of the people, they will head to the general elections and vote him out.
He said:
"If they (APC) refuse to stop him and he gets the ticket, we will wait for them in the general elections and vote against the party.
“We want younger people to also represent us. We are no longer with Olowo in the House of Assembly, he should give space for others, especially the younger candidates who have also bought the forms."
Olowo had recently, at an empowerment programme he organized, said that operating at the state level was too small for him, hence his reason for taking a shot at the Federal House of Representatives.
2023: GUTS unveils plan, takes sensitization to youths, others
Meanwhile, the Gina Unimke and Trisha Shine foundation has launched a massive plan ahead of the 2023 general elections.
In its unveiling statement issued on Thursday, May 5 in Abuja, the foundation stressed the importance of participatory democracy and a credible poll come 2023.
The statement signed by its media coordinator, Mr. Akuma Ukpo, said 2023 was critical for the future of the country and all stakeholders must be committed to ensuring that the future of the country is guaranteed.
2023: FCI to partner with other agencies to combat fake news
On its part, FactCheck Initiative (FCI) has created a team for a cause that will involve partnering with the government and other agencies in other to have free, fair, and peaceful elections in Nigeria void of any form of violence in 2023.
The main aim of this cause will be to spot, examine and respond to the impact caused by any misleading information ahead of the upcoming 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
Adeoye Temitope, country director, FactCheck Initiative says stopping fake news and misinformation is the inspiration behind the project.
Source: Legit.ng
