Ahead of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly Elections, the House of Assembly candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the six Southwest states have declared their support for the foremost presidential candidate in the country and respected national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
They made the declaration at a press conference held on Thursday at Raddison Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the candidates’ spokesman, Chief Olabode Olajide, Tinubu stands head and shoulder above other contestants in the race hence, the decision to throw their weight behind him became the best thing to do in the interest of the country.
“Among all the candidates, he (Tinubu) stands above them. His records still speak for him. He has restructured Lagos State and many other governors elected after him are building on his legacies. Another thing he has helped a lot of men rise to the top. That is what leadership means. Talking about the likes of the incumbent vice president of the country, the minister of works. He has built a lot of leaders, he is a true leader and that is who Nigeria needs at this time.
“We reached the decision sequence to our thorough analysis of all the presidential candidates including our own, their antecedents, pedigree, manifesto and broad acceptance across the country.
“There is no doubt that Tinubu/ Shettima combination stands head and shoulder above the rest.
“Our democratic history will be grossly incomplete if generous pages are not dedicated to Tinubu’s contribution to our democratic struggles and his landmark achievements as a former governor of Lagos state. His consistency as a progressive democrat is worthy of emulation by all budding politicians. Olajide said.
Speaking about why the endorsement came a few hours before the election, Olajide who is the candidate of the party for Ede North, Osun House of Assembly Candidate said, “It is coming few days to the election because history will never forgive us if we do not correct the leadership issue. If we do not do what we are doing now by throwing our weight behind Tinubu. We are drawing votes from our supporters for Tinubu and Shettima.
“His message of Renewed Hope reverberated with all and sundry and we safely concluded that we have in Tinubu, a candidate who is ready to confront headlong, the various problems bedeviling our nation.
“A vote for Tinubu will indeed be a vote for a prepared presidency.”
He, however, clarified that three out of the candidates are standing aloof but others have since directed their supporters to see to Tinubu’s success on Saturday.
“We have told our supporters that they should go and vote for Tinubu and Shettima while we go back to our various constituencies to go and win. We have only endorsed Tinubu, we are still the candidates of our party in our respective constituencies.”
