Funso Doherty, governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Lagos, says the clash between his party’s supporters and hoodlums at the town hall in Oregun on Thursday is ample proof that Peter Obi is still loved in the city and across the nation.
Doherty spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’
programme on Thursday, adding that several vehicles were damaged by suspected
political thugs during the event.
There was pandemonium at the event after thugs invaded the
venue with cutlasses, cudgels and stones.
The hoodlums disrupted proceedings, forcing participants to
scamper for safety.
Doherty, however, said the attackers met stiff resistance
from attendees, who ensured the event later proceeded as planned.
“As people were gathering for the town hall, the venue was
invaded by some people, whom you could call thugs or miscreants, who unleashed
violence in an attempt to disrupt the preparations for the event,” he
recounted.
“They damaged vehicles and injured some people, but the
attendees were determined to host their presidential candidate. They resisted
the attack, forcing the thugs to retreat from the venue.”
He said the police eventually arrived to restore order,
allowing the event to proceed.
“The meeting was successful, with attendees expressing their
love and support for the NDC and Peter Obi,” he said.
Obi, presidential candidate of the NDC, won Lagos with
582,354 votes in the 2023 presidential election.
The ex-Anambra governor, who was then standard-bearer of the
Labour Party (LP), defeated President Bola Tinubu in the state, widely regarded
as a stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Doherty said the resistance at the Lagos town hall showed
that Obi’s support base remains intact in the state.
“Those guys came in today probably thinking they would have
an easy ride. They would come in and do what they might normally do, scatter
things and people would run away. But people were not in that frame of mind,”
he said.
“We have laboured for this, and you cannot deprive us of it.
And I think that spirit is alive and strong. To those who might think that,
following 2023, people have lost some of that energy, I think, if anything,
today should let us know that it is game on.”
He dismissed suggestions that Obi’s move to the NDC, a new
party, might limit his chances in the 2027 election, arguing that elections are
more about individuals than party structures.
“The idea of a new party is not something that we should
hang our hat on anymore in our clime. Parties may be new, but the individuals
involved are not new,” he said.
“But the reception of Peter Obi today, that is how it is
everywhere he goes. This is a man who is loved by the people.
“They view him as a different kind of politician, for good
reason, and those of us who align with that philosophy and thinking.”
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