BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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Even though Akinwumi Ambode, a retired permanent secretary/accountant-general seems to be the anointed candidate to succeed Governor Babatunde Fashola in Lagos State, there are also many strong contenders eyeing the seat of power, who are ready to give him a good run for his money
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Jun. 30, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
RILWAN Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, stoked the political fire when, on May 15, he expressed what seemed like his private opinion on who the next governor of Lagos state should be. He flew a kite when he said Akinwunmi Ambode, retired accountant-general and a governorship aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, would be the best person to succeed Governor Babatunde Fashola. The Oba also added that other traditional rulers in the state had equally endorsed Ambode, even when they (traditional rulers) are expected to be politically neutral.
“You people know me well that I do not hide my feelings on where I stand on issues,” the Oba told his audience at the launch of the biography of Ambode titled The Art of Selfless Service. “We the royal fathers have consulted widely within the state with the sons and daughters of Lagos and have come to the conclusion that the best person to take over from Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the iconic governor of Lagos State is Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.”
Akiolu made no reference to Bola Tinubu, the undisputable Lagos kingmaker, among those he had consulted before announcing Ambode as the Lagos State governor-in-waiting. But loyalists of Tinubu said the traditional ruler was simply acting the script of the APC’s national leader.
Equally, the Lagos State caucus of the APC, in the House of Representatives on Thursday June 12, endorsed Ambode as the next governor of the state. Femi Gbajabiamila, minority leader of the House, led the caucus visit to Ambode in Abuja on the sideline of the National Congress of the party. Gbajabiamila said that Ambode was the right man for the job of taking Lagos to the next level.
Other lawmakers who attended the meeting with Ambode were Abayomi Ayeola, Babatunde Adewale, Hakkem Muniru, Abiodun Faleke, Aliu Kazeem and Yakub Balogun. Others were Rafeequat Onabamiro, Femi Gbajabiamila, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, Samuel Adejare, Adeola Solomon, Toyin Suarau, Jide Akinloye, Ganiyu Olukolu and Abayomi Ogunnusi. The lawmakers noted further in a statement released by Olanrewaju Smart, Gbajabiamila’s media aide, that they engaged Ambode in a rigorous cross examination where he (Ambode) also seized the opportunity to inform the Lagos federal lawmakers of his vision for the state. “At the end of pre-primary election meeting, the legislators declared their support for Ambode. The governorship hopeful also promised to complement the giant stride of the incumbent governor, Babatunde Fashola he once served.”
Barring any last minute permutation, Ambode seems likely to clinch the Lagos top job. The APC leadership in the state has already zoned the party’s ticket to Lagos East senatorial district, where he comes from. Tinubu comes from Lagos West while Fashola is from Lagos central.
Another strong point for Ambode is the fact that he is a Christian. Both Tinubu and Fashola are Muslims. And the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the state has insisted that it is either a Christian candidate or nothing for all the political parties seeking its support ahead of the election.
But Tinubu and Akiolu are not the only ones interested in producing the next governor of the state. The incumbent governor, Fashola, is also very much interested and has begun campaigning for his anointed candidate, Babafemi Hamzat, his commissioner for works. Hamzat, a former commissioner for science and technology during the tenure of Tinubu as governor for four years, retained the position during the first term of Fashola.
During Fashola’s second term, he was appointed commissioner for works and infrastructure. Fashola is said to be comfortable with his candidature because he is not much of a politician, neither does he engage in group alliance of any sort typical of politicians. Despite Hamzat’s impressive curriculum vitae, a few hurdles are on his way to become the Lagos State governor. One of such hurdles is that he is a Muslim, like Tinubu and Fashola, and the Christians in the state want to also have a piece of the pie too.
Also, his party, the APC has ruled out his zone from the 2015 contest having produced a governor in this dispensation. Hamzat is from Lagos West, the same zone with Tinubu, who ruled Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.
Akiolu has also added another obstacle in the way of Hamzat. He claimed that the commissioner for works is not a Lagos indigene. “We cannot have a man like this (Ambode) and allow somebody whose father is an Oba in Ewekoro, Ogun State, to be the governor of Lagos. Although Lagos State belongs to all Nigerians and the state will continue to offer opportunities to every Nigerian to actualise the Nigerian dream, Ambode remains the best man with the required pedigree and character to take Lagos to the next level.”
Realnews has also learnt of a cold war between Fashola and Tinubu over who will produce the next governor. In 2007, Tinubu anointed his godson and personal lawyer, who happened to be Fashola as his successor. But two years into Fashola’s tenure, he (Fashola) began to get fed up with his godfather’s continuous meddlesomeness in his administration. But as mature politicians, they denied that there was a rift between them, even though their supporters were spitting fire on the streets of Lagos.
For instance, on February 1, 2010, three different groups, Coalition of the Youths for Good Governance, CYGG, Movement for Good Governance, MGG, and Lovers of Raji Fashola Forum, LORAF, organised a protest march in support of Fashola. The protesters openly castigated Tinubu and members of the state House of Assembly for doing the biddings of the former governor. The protest was intended to prevent an impeachment move against Fashola by members of the state House of Assembly.
At that time, the House of Assembly was investigating Fashola over allegations of financial recklessness levelled against him by a group that called itself The True Face of Lagos, believed to be working for Tinubu. So, this is not the first time Tinubu and Fashola will be fighting for the political control of Lagos State. How it will play out this time, given that the APC governorship primaries is barely two months away, remains to be seen.
But already, Ambode has begun a subtle electioneering campaign ahead of 2015, enlisting some journalists to help with his publicity.
One of the journalists, who was at a recent parley with him described him as simply urbane with the typical swagger of a Lagos boy whom he had come across. According to him, Ambode is another intelligent and bold individual who understands the terrain that is Lagos.
Ambode was born on June 14, 1963 at Epe. He had his primary education at St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebute Meta before proceeding to the Federal Government College, Warri, where he obtained his West African Examination Council, WAEC, certificate as well as the Higher School Certificate, HSC, in 1981. He got admitted into the University of Lagos graduating with honours in Accounting at the age of 21.
Upon graduation, he joined the Lagos State Public Service and worked with the Lagos State Waste Disposal Board, now Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, as an Accountant grade II in November 1985. He was appointed permanent secretary, ministry of finance in 2005 and in February, 2006, was given the additional responsibility of accountant-general of Lagos state. He retired from the state’s civil service in August 2012.
But despite his backers, Amobode will also have to deal with the same controversy trailing his major opponent over his origin. On May 28, two elders of the Edu family (Ambode claimed his descent to the Edu family of Epe), issued a statement, signed by both M. Oladeinde Edu and T. A. Edu, that Ambode was not a member of their family, but an indigene of Ilaje in Ondo State.
According to the release, the family stated that the progenitor of the Edu family, while alive had 22 wives and 38 children and challenged Ambode and his supporters to trace his side of the Edu family tree and name his mother among the 22 wives. “We hereby bring it to the notice of all Lagosians that we have tried but could not trace where the said Akinwumi Ambode belongs in the family tree of Baale Buraimo Edu of Epe.
“At this juncture, we can categorically state here that in actual fact, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode was a son of Festus Akinwale Ambode, one of the teachers posted to Epe in the old Western Region, a native of Ilaje Ese Odo in the present day Ondo State. As a school teacher, the elder Ambode was very familiar and friendly with several Epe indigenes. The older Ambode came to Epe through the waterways. He came with his wife, Christiana Oluleye Ambode (nee Oresanya), who though initially did not stay with him which made the older Ambode marry a second wife, an Epe daughter, popularly called ‘Iya Vice from Poka, Epe. She was a food seller in Epe Grammar School. This development led to Akinwunmi Ambode’s mother who also hailed from Ilaje Ese Odo in Ondo State to eventually relocate to Epe to stay with her husband,” the family said.
According to Edu family, at death, Ambode’s father’s corpse was taken back to Ilaje, Ondo State, for burial in line with the dictates of tradition and royalty as he was a prince, adding that, “The royalty from the kingdom came with the full royal insignia and ferried his remains back to Ilaje land for interment. With these facts stated above, it is a rude shock to the entire clan of the Edus in Epe that the said Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is laying claims to being a clan of the Edus. We reject this linkage, both paternal and maternal, or even marital,” the family said.
In his reaction through Idowu Ajanaku, his media aide, Ambode said he remained a true son of Lagos having been pronounced so by revered royal fathers in the state. “The Olu of Epe, the Alara and the Oba of Lagos, have all said that Ambode is a true son of Epe. They should direct their concern to (these) royal fathers. If the Olu of Epe, the Alara, who have been on the throne for the past 54 years, could be saying that Ambode is from Epe and the Oba of Lagos is also saying that Ambode is a true son of Epe, what are they saying? They should direct the matter to the kabiyesis. We don’t have any problem with that,” he said.
Aside Ambode and Hamzat, there are also other powerful figures in the race for the Lagos top job. They include Senator Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomon, representing Lagos West in the Senate, Muiz Banire former commissioner for environment, and Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Speaker, State House of Assembly.
Others said to be eyeing the position include Leke Pitan, former commissioner for health; Gbolahan Lawal, commissioner for agriculture; Babatunde Fowler, executive chairman, Lagos Internal Revenue Service, and Senator Gbenga Ashafa.
Among the lot, however, Solomon (known as GOS) has never hidden his interest for the position, as he had tried it in 2007 until Fashola emerged the preferred candidate of Tinubu. Solomon was subsequently compensated with Lagos West Senatorial ticket. He, nonetheless, seems to be back in the race with a booming campaign and mobilisation machinery on ground as others. With this long list of aspirants eyeing the position of governor, and the apparent endorsement of Ambode by the kingmakers in the state, analysts have predicted a crisis in the state chapter of the APC, unless the party quickly puts its house in order. Some are even of the view that the party is toying with its political fortune and may even lose Lagos to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
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