Akinwunmi Ambode has accepted his loss of the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the victor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo-Olu, a former commissioner, beat the incumbent in the APC’s Lagos State governorship primary election that was conducted at all wards in all 20 local government areas of the state on Tuesday, October 2, 2018.
In Tuesday’s election, Sanwo-Olu polled 970,851 votes, hundreds of thousands of votes more than Ambode’s 72,901 votes.
Ambode conceded defeat during a press conference on Wednesday, October 3, and congratulated Sanwo-Olu over his victory and praised the party.
He said, “Dear Lagosians, APC is a great party and the interests of our beloved State must always supercede that of any person or group.
“It is in this regard that I wholeheartedly congratulate the winner of the Lagos State APC primaries, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and urge all Lagosians to immediately support our party’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 elections and work for the success of the party.”
The governor further noted that he is committed to working towards a smooth transition for the next governor of the state and beckoned on all party members to ensure the party is successful at the polls in 2019.
He said, “As Governor, I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition in the remaining period of this administration and ultimately to the new Governor, come May 2019.
“I therefore appeal to all our party members that we remain one family and unite behind the candidate of the party, so that we can continue to move this state forward.
“The progress of Lagos state is non-negotiable. It is a project that I have passionately worked for in the last three and half years as your Governor and one to which I will forever be devoted.”
Ambode also thanked the leadership of the APC including the party’s national leader, Bola Tinubu, with whom he has fallen out of favour.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate