Organised labour in Lagos State in the full glare of the electorate yesterday said they would not support Labour Party (LP) and all its candidates in the forthcoming general elections and declared support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidates.
The workers under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC),”Lagos State chapters at a rally tagged: “Labour 4 Sanwo-Olu’ held at the Police College, Ikeja, declared their support for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s re-election bid as well as other candidates of the party.
The leader of NLC in the state, Agnes Funmilayo Sess,i who led her members to the rally, said ity was the first time that labour unions in the state would come out to endorse the candidates of any political party.
She said the unions had been sitting on the fence, but now wants to take its faith in its hands by supporting Governor Sanwo-Olu’s second term re-election bid and other APC candidates including its presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Today’s not the day of making speeches, because before we came here, we all agreed. We had our congresses and at our congress, we have done something very important. We only want to come and display it publicly. What we have done right in our house, let us show it to the world.”
This is the first time that Labour in Lagos State will come out openly like this to come and show support and solidarity, to come out to endorse any candidate of any party. We have never done it before. But we are doing this because of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“Some people might be surprised why we come out, we are not politicians. We have only been sitting on the fence but this time around we want to be part of it so that we can be part of the government. We have come out with our full chests because this government has done good things for us.
“We are also endorsing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the president of Federal Republic of Nigeria. We will vote for him”, she said.
The Lagos State TUC chairman, Gbenga Ekundayo, said, “There is no need to beat about the bush. You have heard it well. Each time we meet Mr Governor, he responds to us. Democracy is about inclusion.
