Issues As Lagos Guber Campaigns Take Centrestage 

 

 

IBRAHIM QUADRI

 

With the political atmosphere electrified across the country ahead of the 2023 general elections, special attention is devoted on the happenings around Lagos State. This is a State that represents the commercial hub of Nigeria. Its peculiarities stand out!

 

Since 1999, Lagos has been controlled by the progressives party. The dominance of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC which had evolved over the years from Alliance for Democracy, AD to Action Congress and Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN had ensured that the former Governor of the State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu calls the shots in the State political firmament.

 

Opposition political parties especially the People’s Democratic Party, PDP has been utilizing various strategies to wrestle powers from the ruling party. The latest entrant as a challenger is PDP gubernatorial candidate, Mr Abdul-Azeez Adediran popularly referred to as Jandor.

 

A cursory look at the number of political parties vying for the number one seat in the State shows there are three major contenders to look out for. The incumbent Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Adediran and Labour Party flagbearer, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

 

Going by the final list of governorship and House of assembly candidates recently displayed at the INECs office in Yaba, 16 candidates of different political parties are contesting the 2023 governorship election in Lagos State.

 

The list which was signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, the secretary of the Commission details the candidates for the Assembly seats in the State shows 16 of the 18 registered political parties in the country will be participating in the guber election next year.

 

The list showed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) had contestants in all the 40 constituencies.

 

While the Action Alliance (AA) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) fielded candidates in 36 state constituencies each, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Boot Party (BP) had candidates for 34 constituencies each.

 

The African Action Congress (AAC) is contesting in 21 constituencies while Accord (A), Action People’s Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Young Progressives Party (YPP) and People’s Redemption Party (PRP) filed candidates in less than 10 constituencies each.

 

However, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) did not field candidates for the Assembly election in the State.

 

An issue confronting Lagos LP has to do with erswhile Chairman, Ifagbami Awamaridi, who was referred to as a placeholder by the leadership of the party. However, Awamaridi had insisted that he remained the chairman and governorship candidate of the party, having won the primaries earlier conducted and his name published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

 

Mr Rhodes-Vivour, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, defeated Moshood Salvador, who joined the party from the All Progressives Congress.

 

In its determination to signpost Rhodes-Vivour, the party noted that the party had concluded all necessary documentation with INEC regarding its new candidate, adding the party had zero tolerance for “unscrupulous and dubious politics that Mr Awamaridi was allegedly exhibiting.”

 

In similar vein, there is disquiet in the Lagos State chapter of the PDP over the disqualification of 21 out of the 40 House of Assembly candidates of the Party for the 2023 elections.

 

Though, PDP has denied the purported court ruling, former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, raised an alarm that 21 of the 40 House of Assembly candidates has been disqualified. He said the reason was because INEC nullified the primary elections in some local governments.

 

The affected local governments according to Bode George a re Agege, Apapa, Badagry, Epe, Ibeju-Lekki, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Mushin, Ojo, and Surulere.

 

In a swift reaction, the Publicity Secretary of PDP in the State, Hon. Hakeem Amode stated that “the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party -PDP in Lagos state woke up to a news of purported INEC disqualification of 21 candidates of the party in Lagos state credited to our leader, Chief Bode George with utmost embarrassment.

 

“The PDP in Lagos State will like to assure all our candidates, our members and supporters that there is no such thing and the news is not true. We made bold to say such news is a figment of imagination of mischievousness. The leadership of PDP is more prepared now than ever before to win the general elections in Lagos state and Nigeria to give Nigerians a new lease of life better than what is currently obtain under APC and cannot afford to give rooms for disqualification of the party’s candidates.”

 

The Publicity Secretary stressed that “Nigerians will recollect that Independent National Electoral Commission ((INEC), in line with the amended electoral law, published the list of candidates for the next elections and PDP candidates names were included in the list.”

 

“The Leadership of the PDP in Lagos state is fully prepared to ensure that the wishes of the ordinary people of the state is reflected in the results of the coming election by electing the candidates of the party.”

 

As regards the ruling party, APC, Sanwo-Olu will be challenged by the electorate on consolidating on his achievements. For instance, Lagos is the only city on the list of top 20 populated cities in the world that does not have a functional metro rail system. The promise of delivering the Blue and Red rail Lines before the election will be put to test.

 

According to report, 70% of the city do not have access to municipal public water, they buy from tankers or dig boreholes and wells and treat with elementary water treatment technology. What plans does the Sanwo-Olu’s administration putting in place to change this narrative?

 

Aside pipe borne water, there is still no sewage system, human waste is collected by tanker from houses and dumped in the lagoon at night. A cosmopolitan city like Lagos requires a standardized sewage system. These and other challenges will play out and shape the outcome of Lagos guber election come March, 2023.