By Abolaji Adebayo
The race to the general elections is getting heated and more competitive as 16 gubernatorial candidates in Lagos State will be competing for over 7 million votes during the general elections.
Recently, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the lists of the registered voters, indicating that only 7,155,920 Lagos residents have so far registered in preparation for the 2023 general elections.
It also revealed that 16 political parties are presenting candidates to compete for the covetous topmost political post in the state. Based on this, each party has commenced running around seeking electorate’s support for their victory at the poll.
Some of the parties and their candidates include the incumbent Governor Sanwo-Olu of All Progressives Congress (APC); Abdulazeez Adediran (Jandor) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Funso Doherty of African Democratic Congress (ADC); and Dickson Olaogun of Accord Party.
Other parties contesting for the governorship of the state include Balogun Abdulrazaq, AA; Layiwola Olajide, AAC; Bamidele Ishola, ADP; Kupoliyi Funmilayo, APM; Adeyemi Roseline, APP; Oluwo Wasiu. BP; Jim-Kamal Olalekan, NNPP; Braithwaite Ishola, NRM and others.
While the preparation for massive campaign by each party is in top gear, public opinions across the state indicate that the APC candidate is currently at the top while PDP and Accord Party are also making frantic efforts towards victory.
In a chat with ECHONEWS, the Zonal Organising Secretary of South West All Progressives Congress (APC), Lateef Ibirogba, said the party is looking at getting at least 4 million votes for the governor and 5 million for the APC presidential candidate in Lagos State.
According to Ibirogba, Lagosians are already keying behind the APC because they want continuity in the infrastructure development engineered by the former governor and the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and continued by the subsequent governors.
He noted that governor Sanwo-Olu has been doing fantastically well in the development of the state which has endeared the party and its candidates to the electorate.
“Every party would wish to have it all. As a party we believe we have Lagos state’s votes based on the achievements daily recorded in the state. But to be specific, we are not expecting less than 4 million votes for the governor in Lagos State and 5 million for the president,” he said.
He said that the party has been putting up strategies to win the elections but refused to divulge the strategies, saying: “We cannot reveal our strategies for the opponents not to corner us but we are surely strategizing. Lagos State is for APC and we are fully ready to achieve a landslide victory during the 2023 general elections for all the positions right from presidential to the governor to the national and state house of assemblies.”
On his own, the NNPP spokesperson/presidential campaign, Ladipo Johnson said that his party is aiming at getting all the votes in Lagos State.
He said the party has also been putting all what it requires to be victorious at poll in place.
“If there are 7 million voters, everyone will be targeting seven million. Though it is not possible most times to get what you want. But the party is working towards winning and ensuring that our party gets the maximum amount of votes we can get from Lagos especially for our presidential candidate. We’re energizing our faith. In Lagos as well we are getting our party ready for the elections. Within next week, we shall present our manifesto and thereafter commence our campaign.”
He said the party will soon hold mega rally in Lagos to sensitize the voters. He, therefore, urged the INEC to make the entire process of the elections to be transparent to avoid rigging.
An official of the PDP who spoke to our correspondent also boasted of victory for his part at the poll.
He said that the party has been strategizing from the beginning on its own to win the Lagos State governorship election and also win substantial amount of votes for its presidential candidate.
On March 11, 2023, a new Lagos State governor will emerge after the election would have been conducted by INEC.
The governorship candidates of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as other political parties will slug it out with one another for the covetous post of the state governor.
Lagos politics observers who spoke to ECHONEWS on the forthcoming elections x-rayed the chances of each candidates.
Why many even within the other parties rated Sanwo-Olu’s chance higher, loyalists to other political parties and candidates still believe in the victory of their candidates.
However, based on the internal politics which played out to produce the PDP candidate, analysts said it might be difficult for the party to put up a good fight during the general elections.
As earlier reported by this newspaper, PDP in Lagos is notorious for its in-fighting, particularly during election seasons, prompting speculations that the party is populated by APC moles.
The party had more aspirants for the party’s ticket: Ade Dosumu, AbdulAzeez Adediran, David Kolawole, Olanrewaju Jim-Kamal, Adedeji Doherty, and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
Following the emergence of Adeniran, some other aspirants felt cheated and showed their grievances.
Adediran, a former member of APC, joined the PDP in January, this year and declared his intention to run for governor on the PDP platform two months later.
At his declaration in March, Adediran said the APC’s reign in the state had come to a terminal point.
“There is a terminal point for everything and the terminal point of APC in Lagos is 2023. We were the APC, we have created that implosion in APC and we are now in PDP.
“PDP has been doing between 30 percent and 34 percent in every election year. So, the 20 percent which PDP needs to cross that threshold is what we have brought in from APC to PDP.”
Ade Dosunmu, an aspirant, was the party’s candidate in 2011 when they lost to the then incumbent governor, Babatunde Fashola.
The margin of loss that year remains the widest margin of defeat in the state’s gubernatorial election since 1999.
Dosunmu represented the party again in 2015 in the Lagos Central Senatorial election. He lost to the APC’s Oluremi Tinubu.
Adedeji Doherty, another aspirant and a founding member of the party in the state, was the state chairman in 2019 before a court removed him two years later.
Mr. Jim-Kamal, who also ran for the party’s ticket, said the party has been losing elections in the state because of imposition.
“I opted out in 2015 when I discovered somebody was to be imposed on us.”
Analysts said if the PDP in the state can put its house in order, and with a key APC member now in its fold, it might stand a chance of causing an upset at the poll in 2023.
A source within the PDP said Adediran’s emergence as the party’s candidate which was viewed by some as imposition could further throw the party into crisis.
Apart from this, some of the political analysts who spoke to ECHONEWS believed that it would be difficult for Adeniran to break the stronghold of APC backed by the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Kehinde Samuel said: “The contest is between Jandor of PDP and the incumbent governor from the ruling party, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. The other guy whose name you just mentioned will barely get sizeable votes and Jandor will only try, Sanwo-Olu will win for the second time because the calculations are in his favor.
“He is the incumbent and his party leadership is strongly with him. In governance, Sanwo-Olu has been at his best and he will hope to consolidate his achievements when he gets reelected. Jandor might come near but Sanwo-Olu will win.”
Another political watcher, Saheed Akintunde said: “PDP seems to be a stronger force now and I have this belief that they will give APC a run for their money this time around. It won’t be business as usual come 2023.
“Jide Adeniran is contesting to win, unlike the party’s last gubernatorial candidate who was just contesting to make money through negotiation. It will be a serious contest between APC, PDP and let’s say Accord party too because they are there to spoil the vote.
“If either APC or PDP can approach Accord for negotiation it will be a plus to their side because having a loose end might be costly to either of the two strong forces. I can’t say who will win now because it will be a keenly contested election.”
Meanwhile, Dickson, following his emergence as the party’s candidate, had boasted of victory in the coming governorship race in the state.
He appealed to the teeming youths for their collective support to the party to ensure total victory in the general elections.
He said: “We need the youths to take over governance and through seminars, workshops and professional training, we will get it done.
“We are not a violent party and we assure the people that there won’t be any form of violence from us.”
According to him, with the kind of unity among members of Accord, “We are ready and eager to take on the APC, PDP and other 15 political parties next year 2023.”