By current matters
The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, says the adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by the opposition coalition is a welcome development for democracy, as it will prevent Nigeria from sliding to a one-party state.
Gbajabiamila ,a former Speaker of the House of Representatives said this while speaking to journalists after casting his ballots in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.
He said “It’s a welcome development with the coalition. It’s not the first time we’re seeing this. It’s a welcome development. In every democracy, we must have some level of opposition otherwise we’ll run into a one-party state. But I’m not sure where it would go,” he said.
A couple of weeks ago, some regular faces in the Nigerian political scene forming a coalition converged on the Yar : Adua Centre Abuja and launched what could be described as a formidable opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC under the platform of the ADC .
At the event, the coalition introduced David Mark, a former President of the Senate as Interim National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola, a former Governor of Osun State and former Minister of Interior as Interim National Secretary .
Some Prominent figures who attended the programme included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; ( PDP) Peter Obi(LP) former governors Nasir El-Rufai(APC and Rotimi Amaechi( APC)
Gbajiabiamila who cast his vote at Lagos PU 014 on Elizabeth Fowler Memorial High School in the Adeniran Ogunsanya area of Surulere.described the election as free and fair but lamented the low voter turnout.
“So far, I’ve seen peace, I’ve seen quiet, I’ve seen free and fair election. A little bit disappointed about the turnout which is where we need to work on. There is general low turnout from what I’ve seen.
“Perhaps because people don’t understand fully the importance of local government elections, which is even more important than any other election. We need to sensitise our people. We need to educate them about the importance of grassroot government.
“But so far, it’s peaceful and quiet. It’s free and fair. There are no skirmishes anywhere and that’s what we all want for any election.” He said
