The Peoples Democratic Party in the South-West zone has asked the President, Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress to stop “shedding crocodile tears” over the death of respected elder statesman and father of modern Lagos, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.
Buhari and APC had paid glowing tribute to Jakande, who died on Thursday at the age of 91. Jakande was former governor of Lagos State between October 1, 1979 and December 31, 1983.
But the PDP in the South-West region said Buhari and the ruling party should not cry more than the bereaved.
The party in a statement titled, ‘S’West PDP mourns Jakande’s death, tells Buhari not to shed crocodile tears’, said Buhari destroyed some of the legacies of the respected elder statesman when he was military head of state between December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985.
The statement was signed by the party’s Director Media and Publicity in the region, Lere Olayinka.
It read, “We in the South-West PDP mourn the passing unto glory of a real servant of the people, whose footprints will remain on the sands of Lagos State forever.
“His death, though painful, is a fulfillment of the will of Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) and we are confident that for his deeds while alive, he will be granted Aljannah firdaus.
“However, it is our admonition to President Buhari and his APC not to shed crocodile tears over the death of Jakande.
“It is on record that Buhari cancelled the Lagos Metroline network initiated by Jakande then and went ahead to pay compensation to the French company that handled it, costing Lagosians over $78 million.
“If not because of Buhari’s 1984 act of wickedness, transportation problems in Lagos would have been solved permanently. The metroline project would have made life easier and changed the face of transportation in Lagos.
“Same Buhari and his APC people are now on the rooftops, eulogising Jakande after his death. To us in the South-West PDP, this is hypocrisy at its ridiculous peak and it is unacceptable.”
The PDP in the region also sympathised with the family of the deceased and prayed to God to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
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