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All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, has promised to beef up security in its subsequent campaign that would occur in the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, saying that the tragedy that occurred at the opening campaign at Skypower Ground would never reoccur.
The party made this known by the State Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, in a press conference held, today (Wednesday), at the party’s secretariat, Acme, Ikeja.
Igbokwe while addressing newsmen admitted that the campaign was disrupted mid way, saying that some members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) used the event to settle scores which was supposed to be resolved in their office.
He stated that the campaign flag-off was well planned by the party and that it was to avoid such tragedy that made the party to organise it close to the police command.
Igbokwe narrated, “We had a good crowd, we had party supporters who are committed members of the party not just anybody. The kind of crowd that I saw, I haven’t seen it since 2007 when I assumed office as Publicity Secretary of our party. Everything was going fine and towards the end, there was some minor crisis. There was fight between two factions of NURTW transport workers, they brought the issue they were supposed to settle in the office to the campaign ground and nearly put everybody into trouble but we thank God.
“We therefore use this platform to tell you that APC is a decent party, manned by decent men and women, we are in Lagos on a mission to build a vibrant nation and state. And politics is supposed to be fun but some funny characters tried yesterday to down play our happiness. That is why we have come to apologise to you”, said Igbokwe.
While expressing regret over the incident, the Publicity Secretary explained that the party never knew that some unscrupulous elements would infiltrate the place to wreck havoc despite the level of security that was put in place.
“We are not very happy to announce to you that there were people who sustained injury yesterday during the fracas and we learnt that somebody from the Island died, we sympathise with the family members and relatives because that person was a committed member of the party. They didn’t come there to die but to add value to the party”, he lamented.
Igbokwe while commending the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for the professional display by the members of the security agency, stated that despite the provocative acts by the hoodlums, the police did not apply maximum force to deal with them.
“I want to salute the police, I saw for the first time police at work, because they were provoked beyond imagination that they would have been forced to apply maximum force to deal with those boys but they did not.They managed the situation well. I commend the NPF for what they did and our security committee and other agents of government that were there,” said Igbokwe.
He stressed, “I understand that some journalists sustained injury and that is one of the reasons we called for this press conference to apologise. We went there to have fun but some people just turn it into a playing ground for their funny agendas and we regret it.
“This thing will not repeat itself again. We as a party, when we put together that kind of crowd, we have to mange it and we did everything to manage it but there were unforseen circumstances. We need to play politics well. Some opposition wanted to take advantage of the crisis, it will not lead any party anywhere. We have learnt our lessons. If any party wants to take advantage of what happened yesterday it will just be a waste of time”, stated Igbokwe.
He added, “It could have been worst yesterday if there was no security presence. I do have confidence in NPF but yesterday my confidence in them multiplied to the highest level. They were dynamic and careful not to deploy maximum force.”
Igbokwe stressed further that the party does not need the assistance of the transport union to win elections, stating that the party is organised enough to win elections.
He, however, assured that the people involved in the mayhem would face the wrath of the law.
