{"id":286198,"date":"2011-03-01T23:35:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T23:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/"},"modified":"2011-03-01T23:35:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-01T23:35:00","slug":"april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/","title":{"rendered":"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LAGOS was groaning yesterday under a massive traffic jam \u2013 no thanks to a show of strength by the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).<\/span><\/p>\n

The ACN pulled massive crowds at four rallies to present its candidates in the April general elections. The PDP held a rally at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in the heart of the city to drum up support for its presidential candidate Dr Goodluck Jonathan.<\/span><\/p>\n

The coincidence of the rallies, to many a resident, pointed to a test of popularity between the two leading parties.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was no shopping at the TBS Shopping Centre. Besides, all the adjoining roads were blocked by security agents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fashola, who attended rallies at the Agege Stadium and the Volkswagen grounds in Ojo on the outskirts of the city, flew in a Chopper to the rallies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other ACN rallies were held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere and at the Gbagada playground.<\/span><\/p>\n

Juju songster Sunny Ade was on the band stand at the TBS rally. Fuji star Adewale Ayuba thrilled ACN faithful at the Teslim Balogun Stadium rally.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ACN rallies were huge, throbbing with party supporters and excited residents who came to see Fashola as well as listen to the message of the leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the TBS were PDP chiefs, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Olabode George, Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki, Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel, Speaker Dimeji Bankole, PDP Acting National Chairman Dr Haliru Bello, Nigerian Ambassador to Ghana Musiliu Obanikoro and Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim.<\/span><\/p>\n

Others are: Ghali Umar Na\u2019Abah, Mrs Sarah Jubril, Jimoh Ibrahim, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, PDP vice chairman, Southwest, Alhaji Oladipo Tajudeen, Governors Akwe Doma (Nasarawa), Ibrahim Idris (Kogi), Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo), Minister of Petroleum Dieziani Madueke, former Deputy Governors, Mr Femi Pedro and Mrs Koforola Buknor-Akerele, and Mr Olusola Obada, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Jonathan, who noted that the Federal Government has abdicated its responsibility to Lagos, said this situation led to the decay of its infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said a committee had been set up to review Federal infrastructure in Lagos. \u201cThose we feel that can be handled by the state government, we\u2019ll let them have them; those we feel must be handled by the Federal Government, we\u2019ll look into them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s road we\u2019ll repair them and if it\u2019s houses, we\u2019ll renovate them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The President added: \u201cWe want to return Lagos to its pride of place. In achieving this, we\u2019ll work with the private sector, including either privatising or selling federal infrastructure in Lagos.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The aim, according to Dr Jonathan, is to revive the economy, using Lagos as a model \u201cbecause of its strategic importance\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

He promised to address the problem of infrastructure in Lagos, if re-elected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jonathan said he would modernise the Murtala Muhammed Airport road and the Tin Can Port road to ease goods clearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLagos is important and in view of its cosmopolitan nature, Lagos is where we have to emphasise that we have no enemy; we have nobody to fight. We will work with you to improve the economy of this country,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jonathan praised the efforts the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Akintola and Chief Moshood Abiola, among others, in the political development of the Southwest.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said he intended to emulate those leaders in his effort to revamp the economy through the initiation of policies that would stimulate investment, improve infrastructure and ensure job creation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Obasnajo, who spoke briefly in Yoruba, interspersed with pidgin English, said he would be discontented should his party lose in both the presidential and governorship elections in Lagos.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a song: Lau erebe erebe lau, lau erebe erebe lau, Obasanjo onigba \u00a0kadibo kamawole o, Lau erebe o, erebe lau.\u201d (Obasanjo will not be contented that we vote and lose).<\/span><\/p>\n

He assured Jonathan of victory at the poll, saying he has the support of the people. He also congratulated him in advance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vice President Sambo, who pleaded for support, described President Jonathan as the most qualified of all the presidential candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaker Bankole, who also spoke in Yoruba, urged the people to vote PDP, assuring them that the Federal Government will provide them with security.<\/span><\/p>\n

The party\u2019s governorship candidate, Ade Dosunmu, promised a better alternative by reducing taxes. He will also improve infrastructure and standard of education.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the ACN rallies, party leaders railed against what they called the PDP\u2019s ineptitude, urging the electorate to defend their votes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fashola accused the PDP of squandering Nigeria\u2019s wealth. He urged the people to liberate themselves by voting the ACN.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Go here to see the original:
\nApril polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAGOS was groaning yesterday under a massive traffic jam \u2013 no thanks to a show of strength by the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The ACN pulled massive crowds at four rallies to present its candidates in the April general elections. The PDP held a rally at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in the heart of the city to drum up support for its presidential candidate Dr Goodluck Jonathan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nApril polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"LAGOS was groaning yesterday under a massive traffic jam \u2013 no thanks to a show of strength by the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The ACN pulled massive crowds at four rallies to present its candidates in the April general elections. The PDP held a rally at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in the heart of the city to drum up support for its presidential candidate Dr Goodluck Jonathan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-01T23:35:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/\"},\"wordCount\":787,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/\",\"name\":\"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-01T23:35:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"LAGOS was groaning yesterday under a massive traffic jam \u2013 no thanks to a show of strength by the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The ACN pulled massive crowds at four rallies to present its candidates in the April general elections. The PDP held a rally at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in the heart of the city to drum up support for its presidential candidate Dr Goodluck Jonathan","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos","datePublished":"2011-03-01T23:35:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/"},"wordCount":787,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/","name":"April polls: ACN, PDP show strength in Lagos - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-03-01T23:35:00+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/01\/april-polls-acn-pdp-show-strength-in-lagos\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286198\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}