Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has extolled the recently held presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) staged at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, saying it was a model for democracy in Africa. He also hailed the conduct of the APC governorship primaries in the state, saying it was held “without rancour”.
The Governor, who spoke on Friday night during a State Dinner held in honour of the immediate past Chief Judge of Lagos State, retired Justice Ayotunde Phillips and her successor, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, asserted that the presidential primaries won by retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) was indeed free, fair and credible.
According to Fashola, “As we celebrate these women, we are also sending out a statement to the whole of our nation that in this state and in this city, that our integrity is more valuable to us than all of our personal lives.
“We are building a country that our children will be proud to inherit from us and that one day they can look back and say thank you for helping us build this country.
“From this city, we have sent a strong message about the politics that we will also play. If I am not mistaken, our gubernatorial primaries had the largest number of aspirants but we conducted it without rancour.
“None of the candidates who contested have come out to say that the primaries were rigged or that there were more voters than those who were accredited. A candidate has emerged and we are moving on.
“From Lagos, against all the odds, we played host in the last 48 hours to a party’s national convention and primaries that were a model for democracy for the whole of Africa.
“They are very strong statements that we are sending out that we can lead by example. They are statements that make us stand tall,” he said.
The Governor, however, commended the honourees, both of whom were children of the late Justice James Williams, for their contributions to the advancement of the justice sector in the State.
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