Lagos 2015: Why Ambode leads the pack in APC. ON APRIL 20TH SUNDAY NATIONAL MIRROR NEWSPAPER. As the 2015 gubernatorial elections draw near, several aspirants on the platform of All Progressive Congress, APC in Lagos State have stepped up their campaigns . Many of them have also started consultations and mobilisation for support across the nooks and crannies of the state. The roadmap towards the emergence of the candidate of the APC in Lagos was given by the leadership of the party last April when it decided that it has zoned the governorship ticket to the East Senatorial District. Presently, the Lagos East Senatorial District consists of Ikorodu West, Ikorodu North, Somolu, Kosofe, Agboyi-Ketu, Imota, Igbogbo-Bayeku, Agbowa, Ejinrin, Epe and Ibeju-Lekki as local government areas. Though the party said the decision to zone the governorship ticket was that of the elders of the party and that it was not unilaterally done by the leader of the party and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he was the one that announced the decision. Many aspirants who were outside the zone initially raised eyebrows but it seemed that they have all realised that there is nothing they can do about the party decision on zoning. Another issue that came up in the deliberations of the elders at the meeting was the craving for a Christian governor in the state. Many proponents of this, especially the Christian community in the state believe that since the last 16 years, the state has been ruled by the Muslims, and that there is the need for a Christian candidate. Though the party has refused to mention the issue of religion as a factor in whoever emerges as its candidate, political analysts and watchers of political events believe that a party that presents a Christian candidate may have some support from the Christian community in the state. The leading aspirants who hail from Lagos East where the party zoned its candidate to, include Senator currently representing the zone in the Senate, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, Hon. Abike Dabiri, the only lady contestant from the zone; Dr Leke Pitan, a medical doctor and a former commissioner in Tinubu’s cabinet; Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the speaker of the Lagos state house of assembly; Tola Kasali, also a former commissioner in Tinubu’s cabinet and a former accountant general in Lagos state, Mr Akinwumi Ambode. Of this lot, insiders in the party said Ambode’s credential is giving him the edge over others and that the leaders of the party are favourably disposed to him. The fact that Ambode may have upper hands with his array of success started manifesting in April when he was a cynosure of all eyes at the 17th City People Award as he was honoured for his contribution towards the development of Lagos State in the past 27 years. Ambode was all smiles as the award was presented to him by the wife of Lagos State Governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola. He was accompanied to the ceremony by 30 local government chairmen, led by Bariga Local Government Chairman, Akeem Sulaiman, who is the state chairman of the Conference of Local Government chairmen. Ambode, on the occasion thanked the management of City People for recognising his modest contribution towards the development of modern Lagos. He dedicated the award to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who he described as the pathfinder of modern Lagos, and Governor Babatunde Fashola, who he called the actualiser of modern Lagos and thanked him for giving him the opportunity to serve Lagos State in various capacities and horn his skills and talents. As if giving an inkling of his future political ambition, Ambode said the award would propel him to offer more selfless services to the people, if given the opportunity. Also in May , the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, said that Ambode is a suitable successor to Fashola. Akiolu spoke at the launch of a book on the biography of Ambode, “The Art of Selfless Service,” written by Maria Osoba. The book tells the story of Ambode and the need to leave a legacy that people can learn from. At the event, Akiolu urged other governorship aspirants of the APC in the state to give Ambode a chance. “When the APC leader, Bola Tinubu, chose Gov. Babatunde Fashola in 2007 to succeed him, it was met with stiff opposition but today Tinubu has been justified. We see a similar character like Governor Fashola in Ambode,” the Oba said. Akiolu said that all other aspirants of the party were great but God and the elders had chosen Ambode. “The APC can go ahead with their primaries but the elders of the state have met and agreed that Ambode should be the next governor of Lagos,” Akiolu said. Though the comment of Akiolu drew some controversies, the Oba has not renounced his declaration of Ambode as the next governor. Many have also agreed that Akiolu might have leaked the preference of Ambode as the likely successor to Fashola to the public but they felt that despite this, he will still emerge the candidate of the party even if the party conduct primaries . Many political analysts believe that leaders of the party may prefer him being another technocrat given the performance of Fashola who is not a run-of the-mill politician in the last eight years. He is said to have started warming his way into the hearts of millions of Lagosians as he used the festive period to reach out to them. Born in June 14, 1963 at Epe, he had his primary education at St. Jude Primary School, Ebute Meta before proceeding to the Federal Government College, Warri for both his West Africa Examination Council, WAEC as well as the Higher School Certificate Examination, HSC, with he obtained in 1981. He got admitted to University of Lagos graduating with honours in Accounting at the age of 21. Upon graduation, Ambode joined the Lagos State Public service when he began working with the Lagos State Waste Disposal Board, now Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA as an Accountant grade II in November 1985. At the age of 24, he was already a Chartered Accountant and has also completed his Master Degree programme in Accounting from University of Lagos specialising in Financial Management. He moved to the Local Government where he worked for 10 years. In 1998, his commitment to public service earned him the nomination wwand award of the US Fullbright Scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship programme, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Public Leadership with emphasis on Finance and Accounting.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 17:36:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015