The March 18 governorship election in Lagos State has been won and lost but not without mixed reactions from several Nigeians, especially celebrities who were sharply divided going to the election.
DAILY POST had reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate and the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, winner.
Sanwo-Olu polled 762,134 votes to defeat his closest rival, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, who scored 312,329 votes, followed by Abdul-Azeez Adediran, aka Jandor with 62,449 votes.
The outcome of the election has thrown out reactions from celebrities.
While some commended the result as reflecting the electorate’s will, others believed last Saturday’s poll fell short of expectations.
Celebrities like Funke Akindele, Falz, Simi, Peter Okoye, AY comedian Seyi law, and many others have expressed divergent views.
Nigerian singer and songwriter, Simisola Bolatito Kosoko, known by her stage name Simi, condemned the outcome of the Lagos guber in a series of tweets and described Nigeria as the giant problem of Africa.
She wrote: “The blatant rigging and nobody in power addressed it. Lol. The giant problem of Africa. Three hundred billion naira budget for this joke of an election. @inecnigeria, you might have given them back the money to fix some hospitals and schools and just used your finger to point at the people you wanted to select.”
Singer Peter Okoye, in a tweet, wrote: “Behold Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, The man who conducted the worst election in the history of Nigeria. Shame on him and the entire @inecnigeria.”
Comedian Ayo Makun, better known as AY, on his Twitter handle wrote: “Now that the elections are officially ‘over’ in Lagos State, I’m sure all these talks about bigots and maggots will end on the lips of some coconut heads like the foolish federal kola-nut (FFK) seekers. una for tell us wetin una want we the Yoruba boys to do with our Igbo wives and children.”
The former Lagos State National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW chairman Musiliu Akinsanya, better called MC Oluomo, took to the streets to celebrate governor Babjide Sanwo-Olu’s re-election.
In a viral video on social media, MC Oluomo was seen giving out N1,000 new naira notes to supporters.
Similarly, in a post on his Instagram page, comedian Oluwaseyitan Aletile, popularly known as Seyi Law, a proud supporter of the APC, announced Saturday, March 25, for the celebration of the governor’s victory.
He wrote: “I need a cow to celebrate Asiwaju and Sanwo Olu’s re-election on Saturday. Who is partying with me?”.
However, actress Funke Akindele who was the running mate to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in Lagos, Abdulazeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, deleted all politically related posts shared on her Instagram hours after her defeat by the incumbent governor and the APC candidate, Babajide Sanwo Olu.
Recall that the Lagos State governor, in a tweet on Monday, appreciated the Lagosians for having faith in him.
He wrote: “I’m deeply humbled and grateful for the overwhelming support and trust of the good people of Lagos State. I’m honoured to be re-elected and pledge to continue to work tirelessly to deliver a better State for all. Thank you for believing in me.”
Reacting to Sanwo Olu’s appreciation post, famous Nigerian singer, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, the bad guy, described the victory as a deceitful win.
In his reply to the governor, Falz directly opposed the process of Sanwo Olu’s victory.
He said: “You were not re-elected. You selected yourself. Everybody saw it unfold. You are only deceiving yourselves.”
