The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress has criticised Olajide Adediran (also known as Jandor), the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in the state, and his running mate, Funke Akindele, for visiting the owners of vehicles that the Lagos State Government had auctioned off due to traffic violations.
134 automobiles seized at the Lagos State Taskforce facility in Alausa, Ikeja, by the state government for different traffic violations were sold at auction on Thursday.
Adediran and Akindele had met with Mr. Lateef Kolapo and Mr. Osinachi Ndukwe, two of the owners of the vehicles that had been put up for auction, during which he criticised the punishment as being harsh and pledged that his government would repeal the traffic law.
During the visit to Kolapo, Adediran was captured on camera saying that when one breaks the law there should be a consequence, but not a penalty that would remove ones’ means of subsistence.
Condemning the action of the government, he said he visited to encourage the victim.
“As we speak, that is the law of the state, unfortunately. But the coming government by his grace will repeal this law to ensure that irrespective of what you have done wrong on our road, we won’t take your means of livelihood. We will make sure we penalise but not to the point of taking what you use in catering for your family away from you,” Adediran said.
Ndukwe said in a second video, which our reporter also saw on Sunday, that he had received a three-month jail term for driving against the flow of traffic and that his car had been seized. His three-year-old daughter died while he was in prison, and his bus was auctioned off once he was released.
Ndukwe was comforted by Adediran and Akindele at his loss, but they emphasized that despite his opposition to traffic law violations, the state shouldn’t take away offenders’ sources of income.
“The purpose of the government in power is to see to our welfare and that is not to say that if we have done anything wrong or go on the wrong side of the law, we won’t be penalised, but what we are standing against is that we don’t want a penalty that would take people’s means of livelihood away from them.
“If they have taken that away from you, how do they expect you to survive or feed your family? If you are serving your jail term and your car probably was released to somebody to watch for you, I am sure your daughter would still be alive. I apologise and I am so sorry for that. But we have come here, myself and my running mate, Funke, we’ve come to see how we can assist you by providing succour to your plight,” the PDP governorship candidate said.
However, the Lagos APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Seye Oladejo, condemned the visit by the PDP gubernatorial candidate and his intended deputy as a flagrant promotion of the breakdown of law and order in a statement on Sunday.
Oladejo said, “Our attention has been drawn to the recent characteristic charade of the PDP governorship candidate in Lagos state, Jide Adediran.
“It’s saddening that Jandor and his deputy, Funke Akindele, have graduated from playing politics with human lives to blatantly encouraging the breakdown of law and order in our dear state.
“The visit to citizens who paid the price for violating state traffic laws, compensating, inducing, and encouraging them is an act that is totally unacceptable in any decent society. The move of Jandor amounts to turning compassion and charity on their head.
“It was pathetic that he simply interpreted the loss of his hosts as having their means of livelihood taken away from them when in actual fact, people have lost their lives to accidents as a result of driving against traffic.
“However, we are not surprised by the promotion of lawlessness by the opposition party as it remains consistent with their desperation as we count down to the next elections.
“Their role in the spread of COVID-19 with the promotion and sponsorship of needless mass gatherings – #EndSARS – during the pandemic and the social events hosted by his deputy, Funke Akindele are pointers to the lawlessness of the duo and their party.
“We expect Funke to be eternally grateful to the state governor for receiving less than a slap on her wrist for a life-threatening crime against the state.”