The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been under fire from the Labour Party (LP) for allegedly harassing and victimising supporters of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in APC-ruled states.
Their spokesman, Arabambi Abiyomi, said in a statement on Monday that the government's "new trend of targeting the companies of the supporters of LP for annihilation as an official policy and direct political victimisation by the government smells and is highly condemnable."
His comments were in response to claimed plans by the Lagos State administration to permanently close Ladipo and Oyingbo marketplaces on September 22, 2022.
In the statement, Labour Party observed that “it is now emerging as the APC official policy all across the nation to visit harassment and varied threats, even using the police to shoot confessed supporters of LP.”
The opposition party expressed shock that the state government’s “deceptive reason was that they could no longer tolerate any more violations including reckless waste dumping, non-payment for waste services, and general poor waste management situation in these markets.”
The statement reads in part, “Our party’s attention was drawn to the announcement made by the Lagos State Government plans to shut down both Ladipo and Oyingbo markets in the state indefinitely by this week Thursday 22nd September 2022 due to Lagos State claims of traders’ indiscriminate waste disposal.
“Our party wishes to categorically state here that the APC Govt in Lagos State is a very intolerant Govt and highly crude is not the news but it, being completely dictatorial, Hitlerite and recklessly very undemocratic is what is now getting known.
“The Public will easily recollect that the IGBOS who in the main are loyal and are confessed supporters of LP in Lagos State were officially prevented through the use of thugs by the APC Government from taking part in the Voters registration exercise a few months back.
“Considering the fact that these S/E Nigerians are a huge population of land/ properties and blue chip businesses in Lagos. They are, in truth, responsible for a very huge and heavy percentage of contributors to the IGR in Lagos.
“It is beyond any form of argument that the population of the S/Easterners in Lagos is clearly a very substantial percentage of the total population of Lagos.
As a corollary, the highly successful one million and more Obedient movements rally across the States of the Country has been openly proved by the APC to be a great source of great worry which frightens and makes the APC jittery enough to grow warlike tendencies in the unfortunate Party.”
Abiyomi accused the state government of becoming “totally criminally inclined and desperately threading the path of unreasonable politics increasing the level of disunity and insecurity in the Country.
Unfortunately for APC it is so much guaranteed that evil always comes back to haunt the Evil doer. Justice is not always absent though it may be late. LP reminds the APC that it is not possible for a toad to turn into a Princess, and of course, an ugly duckling can also not turn into a swan.
“LP is very confident that even though a Governor or President may be blind, it doesn’t mean that the Sun is not up in the sky. LP is firmly, strongly and totally poised to sustain all the factors that keep granting LP the grace and favour that makes it the preferred political party by the mass of the people to invest their votes in 2023 this is in spite of and of course notwithstanding whatever level of crude politics the APC may begin to unleash.
“The people are very determined and are really ready to do all it takes to get their Country back from the rule of the politically dead APC.
“Funny enough, the Government very brazenly said that poor and careless disposal of wastes in both Ladipo and Oyingbo markets is the reason why all businesses in the two districts must be shut down indefinitely. Can any silliness, deceit and insincerity be more displayed by this?
“The Security Agencies should not just appear to be deaf, mute and blind to the current growth of the APC undemocratic and unconstitutional ways and means that are fast growing beyond ordinary at the moment. APC must be checked-mated.
“LP totally, entirely and absolutely condemns this act that points in the direction of barbaric and dangerously primitive politics of the APC all over the Country.
“Closing Ladipo and Oyingbo markets in Lagos indefinitely, two predominantly major centres of Igbos businesses with a view to ruin their businesses because they are confessed and very unrepentant loyal supporters of LP in Lagos is intolerant, callous, insensitive, repressive, a direct discriminatory and oppressive act by the Lagos APC Government.
“Of course, Lagos is not unaware that her own Citizens also work and live in other States in the Country. Must Lagos Government be this given to evil against fellow Nigerians? It is the one that is hurt by another’s action that is challenged to defend himself and secure his own personal freedom anyhow, in any way he is capable.
The Constitution of Nigeria guarantees every Citizen the freedom to live and work in any part of the Country, also it is a Constitutional duty binding on the Lagos Government to guarantee for all Citizens under its rule the right to all fundamental human rights. But again, revolutions, social insecurity and people’s rebellion are born by oppressive and wicked Governance.”
Accordingly, Labour Party insisted that “in a democracy, the citizens are free to choose which party to support and vote for by law and can not be intimidated, harassed or in any way victimized by the Government.”