The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Jimi Agbaje, has described the 2019 governorship race in Lagos State as a battle between forces that want Lagos to continually remain in slavery and those that want to ensure prosperity for all.

Agbaje said this in a message posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday.

The PDP candidate said, “It is clear to me that Lagos needs more help than ever. But this time, the intervention wouldn’t just come from top-down but also from bottom-up knowing that the electorate, not any one man, would have to decide where we go from here as a people.

“This election is not just another popularity contest; rather it is a clear choice between two ideologies: one that enslaves and puts the interest of one man over many or another that, at its core, seeks to meet the yearnings of the greater good of the people of Lagos.”

He said prosperity for Lagosians should go beyond revenue generation and focus what is actually done with the revenue and how it can provide a better standard of living for the people.

Agbaje said contrary to reports that he took a leave of absence after losing the 2015 governorship race, he did not leave the scene but continued to work diligently to reform the PDP.

He said as part of efforts to reform the party, he contested the national chairmanship seat of the PDP.

The governorship candidate said unlike others, he resisted the urge to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress in search of greener pastures.

He added, “When I lost the elections in 2015, I went back to those basic understanding that the solution was not to look outward and defect to greener pastures but to look inward knowing that if we are to succeed in the future, it would require us to create a stronger collective of communities within and outside the walls of our party.

“We would need to find smarter ways to attract a new demographic of youths, women, professionals, and even non-voters. We would need to commit to long and sometimes uncelebrated months of grunt work needed to help recalibrate our perception of what everyday Lagosians really need.”

Agbaje promised to run an open and honest campaign even as he asked Lagosians to share ideas with him on how Lagos can be better. – Punch

– Oct. 8, 2018 @ 7:58 GMT |