Though 2027 may still seem a little far away to begin to plot political strategies geared towards winning a governorship election, but because the governorship election in question is that of Lagos state, then it is understandable that, by now, a lot of political maneouvering will be going on behind the scenes.
In the last couple of
months, a lot of names have been touted as possible successors to the incumbent
governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Names like the Chief of Staff to the
President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Deputy Governor of Lagos, Obafemi Hamzat, former
Lagos state Head of Service Hakkem Muri-Okunola, Speaker Lagos state House of
Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa and most recently added to the list and gathering a
lot of publicity, it must be said, is the son of the President, Seyi Tinubu.
But the name on the lips of most Lagosians is that of the ex-governor of the
state, Akinwunmi Ambode.
If truth be told, the
former number one citizen of Lagos is adored by Lagosians and appreciated for
the impressive performance he gave in his one term spell as executive governor
of Lagos state. Ambode’s imprints are still everywhere all over Lagos, from
road infrastructure to provision of social amenities and discipline within the
various agencies of the state. Lagosians still desire to have the beautiful
Lagos experienced under Ambode return back come 2027.
Many say that with Ambode, APC
can be sure of a sweeping victory come 2027 when the governorship election
holds. He is the only APC candidate whose personality has a cross over appeal
that can attract massive votes from Yorubas and non Yorubas alike. The Igbos
have shown clearly that they admire Ambode. Given the humongous challenge Igbo
votes pose for the APC in Lagos, it will massively help the APC’s chances of winning
the election if they pick Ambode as the party’s guber candidate. If there is
one APC candidate that can swing a large measure of Igbo votes to the party, it
is Ambode.
And though the Epe
politician is yet to signify his intention to run for Lagos governorship, some Lagos
residents have been urging him to join the fray for the 2027 governorship race,
saying he has the Midas touch to transform the state if given the second chance
to complete the good job he started.
It would be recalled that
Ambode who governed the state from 2015 – 2019 lost the ticket of his party,
the All Progressives Congress (APC) under controversial circumstances during
the primary election, a development that denied him a second term in office.
However, residents of the nation’s commercial nerve centre under
the aegis of Lagos Residents Association (LRA) in a statement by its President
General, Dr. Olumuyiwa Adesanmi urged the Lagos State chapter of the APC to
give its governorship ticket to the former governor.
Adesanmi said it is the constitutional right of the one-term
governor to seek a second term, saying the circumstances under which he lost
the party’s ticket for a second term was suspicious.
The group therefore urged the former governor to join in the
race to succeed the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu whose second term in
office will end in 2027.
He said, “Former Gov. Ambode enjoys humongous support among
residents of Lagos whose lives he touched positively while in office. We all understand
how he lost his bid for a second term in office and not on the ground of
performance.
“The
legacy he left behind both in human capital development, infrastructure and
total transformation of Lagos is still there for all to see.
“We residents of the state
are solidly behind him and calling him to come back and complete what he has
started in our dear state”, the group demanded.
It has also volunteered to purchase the nomination and
expression of interest forms of the governing APC for the former governor to
contest the 2027 governorship election.
WALE LAWAL (08037209290)
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