By Oluwatope Lawanson
A Political movement, Bola Tinubu Support Organisation in the United Kingdom (BTSO UK), has drummed support for the re-election of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other APC candidates at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The group under the leadership of Mr Ade Adeshina said they had been in the forefront of progressive movement in Nigeria, adding that the country needed the right people at the political offices.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BTSO UK on Thursday, hosted a rally at Surulere and its environs for the re-election bid of Sanwo-Olu and Desmond Elliot, a member representing Surulere constituency at the Lagos state assembly.
Adesina said the group had embarked on many political programmes and had blazed the trail by keying into many democratic and leadership ideals to raise people both in Nigeria and in the diaspora.
In his remarks, Dr Segun Iroko, BTSO UK Deputy Director General, pointed out that Sanwo-Olu and Elliot had performed creditably well to stand another chance of second term.
“We have seen the performance of Sanwo-Olu and Elliot, both men have served Lagos state creditably well and we cannot shy away from that.
“Sanwo-Olu has been following the footsteps of Tinubu and has not deviated from the blueprint of development of Lagos state, so, he deserves another term to complete what he has started.
“Lagos state is known for progressive movement and we don’t want to move away from that, we have a government that we have tested and convinced that they can do the job.
“Lagos needs more development and no other government can give or promise that except the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and so on this mandate we stand,’’ he said.
Speaking on the plans of BTSO UK, Iroko disclosed that the group had a mission and a vision after the presidential election to seek for the people that would want to continue on the legacy that Tinubu would leave behind.
“We need inclusiveness in politics because it is better than having divided interests, also we need more people to be involved in the legacy of Tinubu and anyone that aligns with such will have our support.
“This is the reason we have been moving around the country to canvass for more credible people. In Lagos, we have Sanwo-Olu to complete what he has started.
“Others who have come under the Tinubu’s legacy will come in as well likewise Elliot who has been a member of the school,’’ he said.
Iroko further added that the group would continue to encourage others to also come out for a progressive movement.
According to him, the lessons from the last presidential election have been learnt and now we need to re-strategize to see what is going wrong within the party.
On his part, Mr Awilla Banego, Chairman Boluwatife LCDA urged eligible voters to come out en masse to vote for the APC.
“We have benefited a lot from APC government and we need to show our support this time around.
“The party should be given another chance to complete its good developmental programmes.
“The turnout of the presidential election was not encouraging. In 2019, 6.2 million people registered, but less than 900,000 voted. Now in 2023, we have 7 million voters, but only 1.2 million people voted.
“It is the same thing happening over the years whereby the citizens have left the voting for the politicians alone, which should not be so.
“The present administration needs our votes which we should give them in appreciation of their efforts at delivering dividends of democracy to Lagos residents,’’ he said.
Mrs Adebanke Afinnih, Southwest Coordinator, BTSO UK said the re-election of Sanwo-Olu and other APC candidates would bring more dividends of democracy to the people.
“We have seen them perform, so if we want more, they should continue to be in charge, we cannot afford to have inexperienced hands at the helm of affairs,’’ she said.
Mrs Yetunde Shodipo urged Surulere residents to key behind Elliot because of his immense contributions to his constituency.
“We have had it good with Elliot, he has done a lot as our representative, he has initiated good programmes and also sponsored some indigent students abroad.
“For us to have more of him, we need a lot of support for this mandate to move Surulere constituency to a greater height,’’ she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some other leaders of the BTSO UK and Diaspora Grassroot Support for Good Governance include; Rev. Kunle Samuel Adewunmi (BTSO UK Political Head), Alhaji Garba Sanni (APC UK Executive Member) and Mrs Adebanke Afinnih (BTSO UK Diaspora Southwest Leader).
Other leaders are: Enitan Adegbite (Member), Onapitan Olushina (Member), Tijani Sharafa (Member), Comrade Olanrenwaju (Youth Leader) and Adebowale Olayinka (Member) NAN
