By Segun James, Sunday Ehigiator and Rebecca Ejifoma
Supporters of former Anambra Governor Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), defied early morning rain on Saturday to hold rally in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.
This, according to the participants, was aimed at boosting support for Obi and Yusuff Baba-Ahmed, his runningmate.
Operatives of the Nigeria Police had earlier beefed up security at the of highbrow Lekki area to prevent a breakdown of law and order and at the Lekki Toll gate, where a Federal High Court had barred Obi’s supporters from converging.
Despite the court order and heavy presence of men of the Nigerian Police, some supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate stormed the Lekki Toll Gate for the rally. This created traffic gridlock at the ever busy toll plaza. However there were no reports of breakdown of law and order as at the time of this report.
The rally also held in Ojo, Festac, Surulere and Ikeja areas of the state.Though the rally was peaceful, it caused traffic gridlock in areas where it was held.
Marching through major roads, the rally tagged ‘4-million-man Walk for Peter Obi’ was simultaneously held in various areas of Lagos state, including, Ikeja, Lekki, Surulere, and Festac, with thousands of Obi supporters, popularly known as ‘OBIdients’ in attendance.
THISDAY learnt that private and commercial bus drivers including other commuters were left with the hard choice of finding alternative routes out of the traffic congestion.
From National Stadium, Surulere to Lekki, and from Ikeja to Festac area of Lagos, many of the supporters on Saturday morning were seen holding the posters of the LP candidate and his runningmate. They wore branded vests as they marched along major roads. The rally caused both human and vehicular traffic around the Stadium axis, from Alaka and Teslim Balogun Stadium, down to Ojuelegba.
Speaking with a commercial bus driver in Lekki, who asked all his passengers to get another bus, he said, “Obidient people are campaigning at the toll gate, I have been in this traffic for too long, I’m going to turn back at Jakande roundabout. I wouldn’t be heading to Lekki Phase 1 again.”
The situation wss not different in Surulere, Ikeja, and Festac.
At Festac, supporters converged on the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) at 2nd Avenue on 23 Road while a massive crowd of supporters kicked off from the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church in Ikeja for the procession.
