Mr Kola Ajayi, Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Lagos State, on Thursday said most opposition parties in the state were lazy with little or no fighting spirit to win elections.
Ajayi, also the immediate past Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), made the remarks in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
The AD chieftain spoke while reacting to chances of opposition parties in the Oct. 31 Senatorial and Kosofe State Constituency II bye-elections in the state.
“The problem we have is that most opposition parties are lazy.
“They are lazy in the sense that anytime there is an election, most opposition only look for what they want to gain, they don’t prepare fully for the elections.
“What they always do is trying to align with the ruling party for monetary gains. That is why I said most opposition parties are lazy,” the ex-IPAC chairman said.
According to him, opposition parties can defeat the ruling party in the state if they are united and determined to win.
Ajayi said: “If all of them are working, they can work on the huge number of registered voters who do not always come out on election day to vote.
“We have about 5.5 million registered voters in Lagos and during elections, only about a million come out to vote, the opposition parties can work on these people to unseat the ruling party.
“At the 11th hour to elections, you see them (opposition parties) moving to the ruling party or main opposition, telling them they want to work with them, thereby endorsing those parties for peanuts.
“Opposition parties need to work, that is how they will be respected. They should work first and if there is going to be any alliance later, it will not be on monetary bases, it should be on appointments.
“In some states where this alliance is necessary, the opposition are given appointments, but in Lagos the party they endorse pays them off,” he said.
On the forthcoming bye-elections in the state, Ajayi urged the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) to provide a level playing ground for all parties and candidates to deepen the nation’s democracy.
“We only pray INEC gives us free and fair elections. If INEC can be faithful, there will not be any problem before, during and after the elections. They should be fair to all parties,” Ajayi said.
NAN recalls that INEC fixed Oct. 31 for the Lagos East Senatorial District and Kosofe Constituency II bye-elections.
The bye-elections became necessary following the death of occupants of the seats in both the Senate and the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Until their deaths, they were members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). (NAN)
