Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, has said that if Musiliu Akinsanya better known as MC Oluomo is found guilty of breaking the law during the just concluded elections, he must be punished.
Gatekeepers News reports that in the build up to the March 18 Governorship elections, a viral video saw MC Oluomo, the Chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee cautioning Igbo voters who would not cast their ballots for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to stay home.
After criticism, MC Oluomo claimed he spoke in a playful tone and was addressing a lady called “Iya Chukwudi”, not the Igbo in Lagos.
But Hamzat, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, while fielding questions surrounding violence and alleged rigging during the Governorship and state House of Assembly elections said MC Oluomo must face the law if there is evidence pointing to his culpability.
Asked if he saw reason in the calls for the arrest of the APC supporter, the deputy governor said, “I’m not calling for the arrest of anybody. I’m not a police officer; I’m not a prosecutor. People will look at the evidence.
“In the case of MC Oluomo, he has come out to say that he was actually referring to one woman that is Mama Chinedu, or something like that. There’s a video that shows that and that woman said, ‘He was talking to me and we’ve been friends or he’s been my customer for years.’
“[She said] that he was talking to her. So, I don’t know the facts, but people should examine the facts and if in truth he has broken the law, of course, he must pay for it. It’s as simple as ABC.”
According to him, it is “very unfortunate” that voters were ethnically profiled on election day and that people were not allowed to vote because of what they looked like.
“That’s absolute nonsense. If it happened and there are videos, people should be arrested and prosecuted. That’s the bottom line,” he said.
Speaking on audio clips of APC executive council members in the state allegedly threatening voters who plan not to vote for the party, Hamzat admitted that some supporters were overzealous.
“Some people take things overboard, which is terrible. I have friends in Alaba Market. I was at Alaba Market and it was fun. There were Igbo APC members.
“So, for anybody to go and say, ‘Because you’re Igbo, you won’t vote,’ it’s just ridiculous. So, anybody that does that should be prosecuted. Bottomline. If it’s a crime, then people should pay for it.
“To assume that because someone is from one ethnic group, he’s going to vote one way is stupid,” he said.
“But my point which I want to make is that we all diminish this country when we actually exaggerate what happens. We have an election where you have this number of polling units and you have less than 1 per cent that have a problem and we now make it look like that 1 per cent is more important than the 99 per cent.
“I think that it is just outrageous and we should not diminish our country by saying the election is bad. No, this was a great election. Atrocities were committed an people should pay for that.”
Hamzat said the state government has been accommodating of all tribes and religions in the state, adding that Lagos is the only state that has other tribes in its State Assembly.
Hamzat, however, added, “There will be people that will always try to break the rules and we must punish them. When you punish them they serve as deterrent to others so they know that is not the way to go.”
