As activities towards the 2011 polls gather momentum in other states of the federation,
MUDIAGA AFFE writes that the case appears to be a little different in Lagos.The events in the political terrain in the various states of the federation indicate that activities towards the 2011 polls have gathered momentum, though the Independent National Electoral Commission has just released the guidelines and timetable for the conduct of the exercise because of the ongoing amendment to the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act by the National Assembly.
But with a few months to the elections, the race for the governorship poll in Lagos, one of the states controlled by the Action Congress of Nigeria, indicates that activities in the camp of the major opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party, appear to be picking up, while the ACN appears to be unperturbed.
The lull in activities in the ACN is a source of worry for those affiliated to the party. Despite the fact that the ruling party has 99 per cent control of the apparatus of government, it is still not clear who will be the governorship candidate of the party as the incumbent Governor Babatunde Fashola has not openly come out to state his position.
However, a number of interest groups, including some senatorial district leaders of the party, have been rallying support for Fashola ahead of 2011. But the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, recently said that aspirants had not declared interest because the party was yet to give the go-ahead.
Beyond the ACN, the opposition (the PDP) is still mending the cracks in its wall in order to make up for its loss of Lagos since the return to civil rule in 1999. The party is trying to change the old order by exploring the fence-mending approach to clinch power in the state in 2011. Although, the efforts are ongoing, there are indications that the party is still plagued by internal divisions.
Again, the incarceration of the former PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Olabode George, is a critical factor that will ultimately redefine the approach of the party to Lagos politics. This means the politics of confrontation between the two leading parties in the state would become history, and a new era of issue-based electoral contests will become the order as the Lagos electorate are poised to make political decisions based on optimal impacts and programmes of action each contestant seeks to implement.
So far, seven aspirants within the PDP have signified their interest and picked nomination forms for the governorship election. They are former Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Demola Seriki; former deputy governor of the state, Mr. Femi Pedro; former Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Ade Dosunmu; Mr. Owolabi Salis, Mr. Tokunbo Kamson, Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi and Mr. Gbolahan Folami.
While declaring their governorship ambitions, the issues raised by these aspirants at separate forums were an indication that issue-based campaigns would top debates as events unfold.
For instance, Seriki had declared that the need to rescue the citizens of the state from the stiff tax policies of the ACN-led government informed his decision to contest.
The former minister had said that the Fashola-led administration in Lagos had made tax a civic burden, claiming that it was for that reason most companies were relocating from Lagos to other neighbouring states.
Another aspirant, Folami, had said he aspired to govern Lagos because of the pitiable state of infrastructure in the state, especially the bad road networks in the metropolis.
According to him, the huge internally-generated revenue of about N20bn accruable to the state monthly is not commensurate with its level of development.
These are a few of the observations of those in the opposition camp and they may form the bases for discussion in due course. But how prepared are these aspirants to take over the leadership of the state from the ACN? From the days of the Alliance for Democracy in 1999 to its transformation to the ACN recently, the electorate in the cosmopolitan state have always given their support to the party.
A brief survey of how some of the PDP aspirants stand might come handy at this point.
Femi Pedro: A few weeks ago, the former deputy governor formally declared his intention to contest the governorship in the state. His declaration did not come as a surprise to many because he contested the same position in the 2007 elections, using the platform of the Labour Party after the incumbent, Fashola, clinched the AC ticket. Before his appointment as the deputy governor in 2003 under the administration of Bola Tinubu, Pedro was the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of the defunct First Atlantic Bank (now FinBank Plc). In 2006, Pedro had indicated an interest to run for the 2007 governorship under the umbrella of the then AC, but later defected to the LP when his dream could not be actualised. He was to later resign his position as the deputy governor of the state after citing electoral malpractices in the primaries in which he participated and lost. Since 2007, Pedro has been playing the role of opposition on the platform of the PDP. He could be described as a man with both public and private sector experience.
Ade Dosunmu: He retired from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency as a director-general. Before his exit from NIMASA in 2009, Dosunmu was a seasoned technocrat in the private sector. However, for almost two decades, he made key impact in the academics as an associate lecturer in the University of Lagos, and in the maritime sector as an administrator. His experience in the academia and the public sector remains his strongest asset. His political strength is yet to be put to test.
Demola Seriki: He has been in the forefront of politics since the dawn of the Fourth Republic, but he gain more prominence when he was appointed a minister of state in the ministries of Interior, Agriculture and Water Resources and Defence under the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. He also acted as the supervisory minister in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. After the demise of President Yar’Adua, Seriki was schemed out of the Federal Executive Council, and has since been rallying support in the PDP to clinch its ticket. Seriki has the credentials that may enhance his ambition considering the various committees he had served during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the different ministerial positions he held in the administration of Yar’Adua.
Babatunde Gbadamosi: He is the director of Amen Estates and is from the political dynasty of Chief Abdul-Fatayi Gbadamosi, who was a staunch chief of the defunct Action Group in the First Republic. He is the younger brother of Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, the erstwhile chairman of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency. He was a member of the United Kingdom chapter of the defunct National Democratic Coalition. He joined the PDP in 2006 shortly before the 2007 general elections. His affinity with former President Obasanjo and the support of his elder brother, Rasheed, may have informed his decision to join the race. He has formally declared his intention to contest the 2011 poll.
For now, the only possible candidate of the ACN is Fashola.
Babatunde Fashola: He is the incumbent governor of the state. He won the governorship primaries of the then AC in 2007 amid controversies, which culminated in the defection of some major actors. His political father, Tinubu, played a dominant role to secure victory for Fashola in the primaries despite his skeletal political credentials before he joined the administration of Tinubu in 2003, first as the deputy Chief of Staff and later COS. Fashola won the 2007 governorship race despite all the desperate moves of the PDP to wrest the political power of the state from the then AC, which pulled out from the Alliance for Democracy. Since his assumption of office, the incumbent governor has been paddling the canoe of the state amid socio-economic challenges and life-transforming outcomes of his 10-point agenda, which has won high public rating within and outside the country.
Even when many have continued to condemn his reform programmes, saying they are elitist, Fashola is known to have been involved in massive infrastructural development, construction of roads, building ultra-modern health care centres, providing free education and accessible health services. It must also be noted that his programmes have brought crime rate down by 75 per cent, according to statistics from major security stakeholders, including the Lagos State Police Command. The beautification projects that provide relatively enabling environment for investors should also be noted. That his projects are ongoing in different parts of the state may be the reason a number of interest groups in the state have started massive campaigns for a second term on his behalf through the distribution of handbills, posting of posters in strategic places across the state and branding of mass transit buses.
Other political parties would seem to be watching, perhaps waiting for the ACN to set the ball rolling. At the moment, the key political parties that participated in the 2007 governorship election in the state have not come up with definite aspirants/candidates for the 2011 race. The parties include Fresh Democratic Party, LP, People’s Progressive Alliance, AD, Democratic People’s Alliance and All Nigeria People’s Party.
As the coast becomes clearer in the days ahead, it is imperative to note that the governorship race in Lagos is no doubt between the ruling ACN and the opposition (PDP).
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