The Deputy Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Lateefat Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, has urged Muslims across the state to reject vote-buying and electoral violence and actively participate in elections to elect morally upright leaders.
Sowunmi-Kolapo made the call on Thursday in Ake, Abeokuta, shortly after she was decorated as the Grand Matron of the Ogun State Muslim Council (OMC), Egba Zone.
She urged Muslim leaders, families and youths to recognise the importance of political participation in protecting their interests and heritage, stressing that communities should not assume their concerns would be protected without active involvement in the political process.
“Let us tell our wards and our children, there should be no violence. Everybody should go out to exercise their civic rights and ensure that those they want actually emerge,” she said.
The PDP deputy governorship candidate also cautioned against vote-buying, saying politicians who distribute money during elections could later seek greater favours after assuming office.
“So, everybody should ensure that this time around, they participate in the election. They shouldn’t sit back and say, ‘Oh, they will write the votes, somebody will write the votes.’ It is what you do that will count,” she added.
She called on members of the Muslim community to turn out in large numbers during elections, exercise their civic rights peacefully and vote for candidates of their choice, while canvassing support for the PDP governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu.
In his keynote lecture, the Mufti of Ilorin, Sheikh Farouq Sulaiman Onikijipa, urged governments at all levels to increase investment in education, describing it as critical to national stability.
Onikijipa also expressed concern over the rising cost of education in both private and public institutions and called for measures to make education more accessible.
Speaking on the theme, “Socio-economic Stability: A Fortress for Global Security,” the cleric said morality should be a major consideration in selecting leaders.
“For us to have stability in anything, we must choose a leader who is morally upright; who will not pocket public funds or take advantage of others for personal benefit,” he said.
He also urged politicians to avoid campaigns of calumny and encouraged youths to acquire knowledge and skills to prevent them from being used as instruments of political violence.
Earlier, the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, described Sowunmi-Kolapo as a community builder and a moulder of future generations in Egbaland.
Obasanjo said the current political struggle should not be about violence but about reorganising the affairs of the state and protecting the future of Ogun State from being mortgaged for money.
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