Who will rule Lagos come May 2007?

Pedro

no be only pedro na somolu

Only God knows!

i agree wit lewa

kitaun you must be an enemy of progess. here is a candidate (femi pedro) with [b]no skeletons [/b]in his closet. he served lagos for four years, remained loyal to dictator tinubu. [b]this man has nothing to hide, a clean track record, a histroy of people management and money management, no godfather, strong religious background, [/b]yet you continue to ridicule his candidacy and his campaign. HYPOCRITE!!! u are an embodiment of the problems our great country is facing. henceforth, i will ignore your future posts, because you never have anything constructive to post. you must be an agent of one of those rundown politicians.


moving on, this is an interesting read about the candidate:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200701170506.html

@Streetcyph


The problem with most of you peeps is that you tend to overreact to issues that do not really call for names-calling


How could you have missed the humour in my statement?? Na wah o!!


Even at that why, attack me when on this thread i have not attacked you or the candidate you seem to have collected money from?

You claim he has no Godfather but the person that broght him to prominence at least politics-wise is no one else but Tinubu


I have already told you that you should forget it because no one but Fashola is winning in Lagos, take it or rue it


an interesting read for y'all http://www.thenewsng.com/modules/zmagazine/article.php?articleid=10742

REPRODUCED HERE

Barrister Tunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the Chief of Staff to Governor bola Ahmed Tinubu of Lagos State, and a governorship aspirant in Lagos State under the platform of Action Congress, fielded questionm from journalists in his office at Alausa, Ikeja on why he is in the race. was also there. Excerpts of the interactive session as recorded by Yisa Jamiu

Q: Who is Barrister Tunde Raji Fashola (SAN)?
A: I come from the Fashola Family of Isale Gangan in Lagos State. My roots are embedded in the family house at number 18-28, Princess Street in Lagos, in the area particularly referred to as Onola, a very well known family in Lagos. My father, fortunately or unfortunately, given the circumstances that we find ourselves today, was a journalist. He used to be the advert manager of Daily Times under Alhaji Jose, many years ago. He was one of the founding hands of Times Leisure Services when they tried to open up the business opportunities of Daily Times into some more commercial areas then at Eric Moore.

My mother was a nurse. She is now retired. I am the third of nine children and the first son. I went to school in Lagos all through from primary until I decided that I had had enough of Lagos. I wanted to leave the protection of my parents and move outside Lagos. I got their consent and opted for a school in Benin. I went to the University of Benin where I studied Law and after that I proceeded to the Law School and I practised my profession for a period of about 15 years before my appointment in 2002. But as a child, I have always been the pack leader. In my secondary school I was the school prefect as well as the house captain, a sportsman and still a sportsman. Am a married man with one wife and two children. My wife is a Roman Catholic still practising her religion and am a Muslim.

Q: Can you take us into your political antecedents?
A: My political antecedents? Well I have been an active participant in events that occurred around me. In school, particularly in the university, I was a member of the Law Students Association and although I did not hold any elective office, I was one of the people who spearheaded what became a revolution then to outlaw or to stop the practice of candidates spending money on perceived Godfathers to win elections. We outlawed it and we told every candidate go and campaign and we will make sure that nobody will spend money to win the election. We wanted people of integrity to run our association.

Beyond that, I have been a public commentator on national issues such as in the time of Abacha when people were detained over bailable offences. I criticised that policy in the paper published then. In my own way, I have contributed to the democratic struggle of this country. My contributions will better be told by those who know. I deliberately believe that a man shouldn’t blow his own trumpet and that in the theatre of life, we have different roles- complementary and confrontational- to play. Even in a film, everybody has a role. In the last four years that I have been here, you cannot work with a Governor like Bola Ahmed Tinubu and not have a political antecedents and knowledge.

The man breathes, sleeps, dreams and thinks politics 24 hours. If I have worked with him for four years and I have not lost my job, some of that political knowledge must have been passed to me somehow. I must have believed in some of the passion that he exudes, I must have some role to play in some of the events that developed around him.

But unfortunately, we have profiled politicians as only the people you see in the news. There are people who are actually politically conscious and you will never see them in the media, but they take decisions that affect your life or influence the people who take the decision that affects your life in many ways than one. They influence what the profiled politicians do or say and you will never see them. They are his reserved army.

All of us are political animals. It is how you choose to express your political ideas that matters. Some believe in being at the centre stage, some are quiet revolutionary. Am here to help the governor to succeed and I think I have done a very good job.

Q: You said you are the youngest among the governorship aspirants, then what is your age?
A: I believe I am the youngest amongst the governorship aspirants. At 43, I believe am the youngest.

Q: Why did it take you this long to declare your intention of contesting for the governorship position?
A: First of all, as to timing, I think that what Lagos State deserves is the best governor, not necessarily the first aspirants. Secondly, nobody who has been a keen political watcher or observer will deny the fact that until on Saturday, the 16th of September when we launched the Action Congress (AC) in Abuja, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to which I belong was addressing some emerging issues that called for deeper thinking. Some people claimed they were factions of the AD, those issues were in court until lately.

So, in all of these circumstances I think it was rather hasty. That was my thinking. To be subjective, I thought it will be hasty to as it were announce an ambition on an uncertain platform. More importantly, about the perceived reactions of my colleagues in the cabinet, with every sense of modesty, we know our own strength, we have been a team that has been together for upward of seven years. In some cases, four years. We know the quality and ability of each person. I have spent four years here managing the governor's office and that involves a day-to-day problem solving efforts.

What this office is about is problem solving, crisis management on a day-to-day basis. On every working day here, I get nothing less than 350 letters addressed to the governor. Its either a widow's child is out of school, a husband is dead, somebody had an accident, somebody is fighting over land, all issues, it’s all problem solving. That is all I do everyday and that is all I have done in the last four years. Everything that concerns any ministry comes to me here. A petition about land comes here, a petition about refuse comes here, a petition about physical planning, every ministry comes here; party crisis, security, everything comes before me. I read all of those letters. I take decisions on those that I feel competent to decide without reference to the governor and the ones I think need his attention or advice or knowledge or information I pass on to him. He is a wonderful delegator of authority.

Q: Are you Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s anointed candidate?
A: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu whom I know is a democrat. He is somebody whom I know and believe will not do anything other than democratic, and you must give me some measure of independence; you must credit me with some measure of knowledge for myself. Am a father, am an adult, am a husband. I must be able to take decisions for myself. In my profession as a lawyer, I am a trained problem solver. When I am defending a criminal, I am solving a problem for him, his family and those who depend on him. When I am trying a divorce case, am solving a family problem for whom ever am representing; when am managing the affairs of a company, am solving the problems of management and the shareholders of such company. I am a trained problem solver and that is the unique skill and ability that I have brought into governance.

Now as regards why I have decided to run, I have decided to accept the responsibility of my own generation. For too long, the only hero that we cry about is the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Where are our own heroes? When is our own generation going to be heroes? I was reading Professor Wole Soyinka's book recently and he quoted a Yoruba proverb which says “Ti eniyan ba dagba o un ye ogun ja" (meaning: as you grow older, you stop fomenting trouble). He said that unfortunately those who put the phrase together did not think of Nigerians because at over 70 he was still in the trenches fighting for democracy, fighting for justice, fighting for freedom of speech. And I felt that if somebody like Professor Soyinka who is old enough to be my father is still fighting, he is not fighting for me again.

In fighting for my own children, what way do I want do it? If you have not built a house at 45 years, it’s going to get increasingly more difficult for you to do so in Nigeria and that is the truth. At 45 years you are no longer employable. You are having children, what schools are they going to attend? And if that doesn’t concern you and doesn’t concern me, then we are having a problem. We are the greatest stakeholders now because of our children. That is the reason I am in the race. But more importantly, we have complained every time that the politicians have failed us. We the educated people must not leave the political space for them. If we say politics is a dirty game, who is going to clean it? The dirty people inside? No they don’t want you in there and they won’t get clean and that is why I am in the race. Politics is a serious business, nobody should be fooled. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was a very serious man, Bill Clinton was a very serious man, deep thinker, Nnamdi Azikwe also, Bola Tinubu ditto. Politics is about serious people. Let us not deceive ourselves and I think I am a very serious person.

Q: As the youngest governorship aspirant according to you, what new thinking are you bringing into governance since your intention is to come in and gradually ease out all the old brigade?
A: I am not saying I am going to ease out the old brigade. You see, in four years, I have experienced a nice time. I had no idea when I came here what the problems and the challenges of those in governance were especially in Lagos. I had the privilege to work with a governor like Tinubu for four years and I have been involved at the highest decision taking level of this place. I am a member of the State Welfare Board, I am a member of the State Executive Council. I am also a member of the State Treasury Board which is the body that prepares the annual budget and I am part of solving the problem of managing scarce resources for the greater good since resources will never be enough.

But having been here, having participated in drawing up the road map of this governance which is the 10 point agenda, I believe that the super structure for Lagos is effective. We have designed a super structure for Lagos. What is important now is to consolidate on that super structure. As the Chief of Staff to the governor of Lagos State, nobody has information in any department of government than I do, because everything that comes from every ministry comes to me. I am privileged to see much more than any of my colleagues can see because whereas Urban Planning for example is limited to urban planning matter, I see what happens in the ministry from correspondences. I sit in meetings with the governor on issues concerning works, I sit in issues concerning economic planning, I sit in issues concerning finance, I sit in issues concerning lands.

I have a broader view than any of the aspirants because of my privileged position. And I now asked myself, do you want all these experience to go to waste? Do you want to go back and be a lawyer? How much change can you impact as a lawyer after acquiring all this knowledge and experience? And my conscience tells me that I must join the race as part of service to Lagos State.

Q: What will survive any administration are ideas. Our ideas are the 10 point agenda. I don’t see any administration in foreseeable 10-15 years changing that vision successfully. You can play with names, you can plan with concepts but those ideas derive from what represent the millennium development goals. How to tackle poverty, how to tackle urban housing problems, how to tackle transportation, how to tackle health, security. They are common issues, they are common problems that most of us encounter everyday, so you don’t need any Aristotle to come and tell us that we are having problems of transportation. You don’t need it. Now, we have a blue print for implementing it. We have designed a blue print. It's there, it's our collective efforts over the last seven years. And I am here, we started with about 23 issues from the various sub-committees. As we moved into the second term of the administration, we realised that some things had to be done immediately. That is what we called the 10-point agenda.
A: How do we move Lagos State forward, implement the 10 point agenda, continue with the implementation? That is why we subscribed to the belief that Lagos State would gain a lot if a member of the current executive takes over in 2007. Do you know why? In every democratic setting of four years, even in Washington, the citizens really get only three years of administration, the new governor spends the first year knowing the politicians and those who matter in his environment. If he does that in one year, may be he settles down in the second and third year, he spends the fourth year seeking re-election. In my own case as the serving Chief of Staff with so much knowledge, tax payers get one year extra if am running for re-election because in the first year, am not learning the programme, am not learning what is going on in Works, I was part of the planning team for the CBD projects; am not learning what is going on along the Lekki/Epe Expressway, I was part of the team that put that transactions together with my colleagues; am not learning what is going on in our health care sector, I was part of the team that put the programme together. So, I start running immediately I hit the track. So Lagosians get more value for their mandate.

Q: You said Lagos will gain a lot if any member of the current executive emerges as governor. If at the end of the day after due consideration you are asked to step down for any of your colleagues, would you be willing to do so?
A: My colleagues, with respect to them, would not decide who represents Lagos State at the elections. So the question of stepping down at their request does not matter. Lagosians must choose who they want to serve them. But it is instructive that they will gain a lot if one of us emerges as the next governor of the state.

It is a common sense advice if a member of the serving cabinet gets the mandate, particularly me, because of the knowledge I breathe, because of the youthfulness I breathe. The task of governing Lagos is a 24 hours job. I have done that job with the governor for four years and I am not tired of doing it. You need somebody who has the energy. If I take office next year, I will be taking office at just the age of 44 years. If I serve for eight years, I will quit at 52 years and I will still be a young man. That is what Lagos needs, not a 60-year-old or 70-year-old governor.

In any event, I am still the greatest stakeholder because I am still young so I know the problems of my generation and those of the elderly people in the state. Let them trust their future with us. The elders trust us to send us on errands, let them trust us to look after our affairs and their own.

na play I dey play

No qualms about that really

the fact remains that the major power broker in lagos politics is tinubu and him who he anoints is surely going to carry the day come election day so even though pedro wld have been a good govnor events and interests will not allow him land in alausa

buchio, are u in lag at the moment? if you are, i am sure u are noticing the changes in people's opinion about the Labour Party. Mr Pedro has spread the field, and people are actually looking beyond party name and looking at the candidate one by one. here is an article in the Guardian today, by a collegue of mine and a highly respectable Nigerian Journalist, Muyiwa Adeyemi: till date, it is one of the best write ups on each of the strong candidates for the election.



Many Good Candidates, One Governor-To-Be BY MUYIWA ADEYEMI

The governorship candidates for Lagos State constitute a critical mass: they are a group with every member well qualified to lead the state. But, eventually, only one of them shall emerge as governor. Who shall that be? Pedro versus the rest?

THE contest for the Lagos Governorship seat is getting rather more interesting by the day with the contestants and their supporters doing all they could to convince Lagosians about their candidates.

But the obvious is that Lagos seems to have a number of good candidates for the plum job. And leading the pack of the contestants is the deputy governor Femi Pedro and other contestants including former Chief of Staff to Governor Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Babatunde Fashola, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi and Mr Yomi Agbaje

Until now, many thought the battle would be a straight one between the Action Congress ( AC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, but recent happenings in both parties have suddenly thrown up more candidates from other political parties and this is making it difficult to predict which party will form the government in the state come May 29.

Many political watchers in the state are keen to see how much the incumbency factor would determine the next governor, because Tinubu is no doubt a force to be reckoned with in the coming election. In the last eight years he has called the shot in Lagos politics and whoever had a contrary opinion with him was easily sent into political oblivion.

But the seeming last battle Tinubu will fight as a governor of Lagos State is to ensure that his candidate Alhaji Babtunde Fashola emerges as his successor. But this battle may not be as easy as the earlier one he fought as a governor. Reason: The emergence of Fashola as the candidate of the AC has caused many problems within the party and has torn its members apart.

Fashola is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Chief of Staff to Tinubu. Outside that, he is relatively unknown in political circles in the state and is believed to be a political dark horse who cannot win election. When it became obvious that he has been anointed by Tinubu, other aspirants within their fold held a press conference to herald their battle with Tinubu's choice. Those at the press conference included Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Hon. Ganiyu Solomon, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, Mr Jimi Agbaje, Mrs Remi Adikwu-Bakare, Hon, Hakeem Gbajabiamila, Prof. Kunle Lawal, Mr Raymon Owokoniran, Mr Doyin Danmole, Mr Bayo Erikilola and Babs Akinlolu.

Speaking for the group, the highly disappointed Afikuyomi who is now the flag bearer of the All Nigerian Peoples party ANPP in the state lampooned the manner in which Tinubu imposed Fashola on other 11 candidates. According to him: "We insist that the exercise is a ruse aimed at achieving a third term for the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu through the foisting of the candidacy of his relation and former chief of staff, Alhaji Fashola on the party." He said the throwing up of Fashola was against all known democratic principles.

Afikuyomi and his fellow disappointed aspirants left the AC for Tinubu and Fashola with a promise of teaching them a lesson at the polls. But that may remain a dream judging by the way all of them have refused to close ranks to fight their common "enemy". Most of them went to pick up nomination forms of other parties.

Shortly after his disappointment, Afikuyomi was said to have met with a business mogul and ANPP chieftain Chief Harry Akande and the party's presidential flag bearer Gen. Muhhamadu Buhari at the Sheraton Hotels in Lagos where he discussed what had happened to him. He expressed his willingness to join the ANPP and flag the party ticket in the state. Afikuyomi got it but ANPP has no structure in the state and the party will be a hard sell to many in this part of the country.

The situation in the PDP is also a source of worry to the members. With the party losing elections both in 1999 and 2003, there is nothing on ground to show that the party would change its record this year. With the sudden murder of Engineer Funso Williams who had done much to keep the party alive in the state, many expected that the contest for the part's ticket would be between Senator Ogunlewe and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro. But forces within the party forced Ogunlewe to steer clear of the race. With blackmail and constant police harassment over the death of Williams, Ogunlewe went on sabbatical leave and has kept quiet. With Ogunlewe off the road the formidable campaign organisation of Funso Williams known as WILLCO later threw up Mrs Hilda Funso Wiilaims for the ticket. The woman was said to have won the primaries held twice and even read her acceptance speech and led the delegation to see off the party national officers led by the chairman of the Board of Trustee of the party Chief Tony Anenih to the airport. But surprisingly her name was substituted for that of Senator Musiliu Obaikoro at the party national secretariat in Abuja.

If the PDP had any genuine reason to have done that, its members in Lagos were yet to be satisfied with a decision that has raised many questions including the place of women in the PDP agenda. Only last week the WILLCO organisation in a full page advertorial was still asking why Mrs Funso Williams was robbed of her victory. They did not only express their disappointment at the party's decision but made public their doubt of the PDP winning in the state. Indeed, what WILLCO's advertorial simply made public was the fact that there had not been any genuine reconciliation after the primaries. And if there was any attempt, it was unacceptable to WILLCO.

Whatever the grouse, Obanikoro's name has since been submitted to the INEC and he is already preparing for the election. Obanikoro is not a stranger to Lagos politics. He was a former chairman of the Lagos Island Local Government, a former commissioner and a Senator representing Lagos Central District. He is known to be a grass roots mobilizer. But some do not see him as a good manager of resources but he is expected to give a good battle to the deputy governor Femi Pedro and Fashola. But a protest vote within his party cannot be over ruled because many leaders of the party in the state still see him as an outsider and somebody imposed on them. A genuine reconciliation may brighten his chances.

Femi Pedro who is the flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP) is one candidate that many Lagosians could not understand why Tinubu jinxed him and forced him to leave the AC. In fact, many would still be waiting for the reasons why Tinubu whom he had served faithfully for about five years did not want him to succeed him. A banker-turned politician, Pedro joined the Lagos State cabinet shortly before the 2003 elections, having been appointed to replace Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele.

The role of Pedro in the government was strategic: he connected the government to the corporate and financial world. Looking like the man Alausa had been expecting, it was no surprise then that Pedro was saddled with the responsibility of over seeing the internal financial working of the state, especially in the area of improving the internally generated revenue generation. He was also charged with the responsibility of creating ideas and expanding the vision of running the government, keeping the ideas flowing from the state executive council while Tinubu played the politics. Indeed, Pedro played up to expectations. Since he came in following the re-election of Tinubu, Pedro has helped to shore up the internally revenue generation of the state from a paltry N2billion to about N6billion.

Besides, he has created various projects that are currently being implemented by the state government, especially in the area of economy, employment generation and development of social amenities in the state. He was also not left out in the politics of the state. Pedro, in the wake of the imbroglio between the Federal Government and the state over illegal withholding of the local government funds, was in firm support of his boss in the struggle. In fact, Pedro led many delegations on behalf of the state to Abuja to negotiate the way out of the impasse. Also, he represented the governor in many rallies organised by the state to compel the Obasanjo Federal Government to obey the Supreme Court order.

It was against this background that Pedro decided to offer himself to the people of the state apparently to continue with the vision and policies of the Tinubu administration. Though Pedro would have loved to achieve his aspirations through the AC , when it became evident that Tinubu had anointed Fashola as the flag bearer of the AC, instead of engaging his boss in open confrontation the deputy governor opted for the Labour Party and was elected as the party's flag bearer. Despite the fact that he did not run on the platform of the AC, his rancour free election to the Labour Party has shored up his rating before the public and this is really very important for him.



http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/policy_politics/article04

Good writeup from a 'closed mind' that only accentuated the fact that Labour Party would be relying on sympathy votes abi? but really from where? lol, how relevant are exco members/chieftains of Labour Party in the scheme of events in Lagos? Do you know that with the seeming problems AC have, the structure was solidified with decampment to AC of 26 political juggernauts in the state? E easy? If no be panadol . . .

Who will rule Lagos come May 2007?

Wrong Question! anyone can rule but not anyone can make better; change from bad condition to better condition

Who will make Lagos a better place to live in 2007? should be right question.

Anybody apart from Obanikoro who was defeated flatly at the primaries and used the bully boy tactics to get himself the ticket, who was voted unanimously as the worst senator from Lagos, Who supported the third term vigorously, and hardly stood up to be counted in the senate,

Let any one rule. All politicians are the same. They behave like incoming wive now later they will become copra.

in order for lagosias to make the right choice, i implore us to continue to provide information about the candidates as it is the best way for us to know who the best choice is. here is an article in today's paper



Pedro and the burden of quality politics 22/1/2007


By Emenike Obioha

If reports in the dailies and feedback from political talkshops are anything to go by, then it is evident that the ‘problem’ facing Otunba Femi Pedro, the Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State, is one that other politicians would give their left hand to have.
The man has a surfeit of commendable believability borne out of an acknowledgement of his ability to perform and rock-solid integrity. At a time when trust and respect are rare attributes that politicians can only be wistful about, most commentators readily affirm that Pedro, as a non-professional politician, has these in abundance. They also grant that his campaign has a breath of fresh air about it — and that it is liberally laced with integrity and passion. What it doesn’t have, they say, is the politician’s desperation about victory. In other words, they say since Pedro is such a gentleman politician and a technocrat, he might not be able to play the dirty politics needed to ensure his victory at the polls.

This ironically put politics in a two-way categorisation: the do-gooders as also-rans and the devil-may-care winners, whose sole purpose in politics is to win elections — and to blazes with what happens afterwards. A cursory analysis of our recent political history might support this categorisation. But, like an average cliché, this cynical delineation is contestable. Though our politics has witnessed the ascendancy of ‘garrison’ politicians, overbearing godfathers and their acolytes, it is but not true that they must have their way all of the time. It is true that these uncouth politicians deploy all manner of ‘weaponry’ to effect their victory — and that thuggery, rigging and violence sit well with them.

But, as research on voting across the world has shown, a politician could only rig with the (often) tacit encouragement of the electorate. An electorate that is uncaring about the political process and who emerges as leader would hardly be bothered about how such a representative is elected. It is known to have been difficult, if not downright impossible for a representative to emerge through unfair means in areas where voters are determined that their votes matter and that their choice should be respected. This, in other words, means that a nation gets the kind of (elected) leaders it deserves. We would therefore be best served by participating fully in the ongoing political process and ensuring that not only the best candidates emerge, but that these are our choices. We should no longer leave our destiny in the hands of ‘garrison commanders’ masquerading as politicians for, if the recent past is anything to go by, they do not care a hoot for our hopes or sensibilities.

If we truly believe, as media reports have it, that candidates like Otunba Pedro have the best credentials and capacity for serving our interest, then we should work to ensure they emerge victorious because their candidacy represents our best aspirations as well. Rather than push these ‘smart, brilliant, sincere but too gentle’ politicians into the suffocating embrace of godfathers and interests, the time is ripe to reach out to them and support them. If we don’t, we are defeatist and underestimate our own power to effect positive social change and enthrone an enduring political culture.

We should let candidates like Pedro know that we appreciate, and prefer their kind of politics to the other kind. It does not have to be financial. Letters and other gestures of support would help during the campaign period. Much later, our massive outing and vote would serve during the election proper. These, and vigilance to make sure that the votes are not tampered with, would ensure that we have a government that is truly responsible to us.

It would be a sad portent for the future of our democracy if we condemn a candidate like Pedro for possessing the same good qualities which we moan that our politicians lack, and should have. If Pedro represents idea-driven politics and performance-based campaign, and feedback in the media repeatedly shows that he does, then it is imperative that this is rewarded by the massive support of a discerning electorate.

Luckily enough for Pedro, he is running in a state that is known for the sagacity and maturity of its voters – although in the past the stakes had not been this high. It is therefore the best platform for enthroning the new kind of politics that we all yearn for and it would be a shame if we let this opportunity elude us.

But as the Pedro campaign intensifies its efforts and professionalism, it is to be hoped that quality will eventually shine through – and the best candidate will pull through to victory.

Obioha lives at Idimu, Lagos

http://thenationonlineng.com/dynamicPage.asp?id=9088

the simple truth is that fashola is winning come april 2007,am not a politician bt i can see tinubu who is a strong man in AC staging fashola as the next gov.i just pity obanikoro that bully himself to be the flag bearer of pdp govship flag bearer cos his gonna loose galantly.
i rest mi case,piss out!

This has been the time that, we have to face reality.Let cast our vote for the right and credible candidate,that have something to offer and God fearing.
It has been a time that we need somebody that will save lagos from poverty & environment degradation and other things.Lagos still remains centre of excellence and it will continue to lead.
Femi Pedro remain the best candidate among the contestants in lagos for now. As i,m concern is the competent person that can deliver.
Apart from not having god father in polictics, but his capable to turn things around.
As his campaign slogan have said, "OUR DESTINY IS IN OUR HAND". i want everyone to think twice and dont let us be deceived by the political dictactors that dont have anything to offer.
I arrest my case.

Its funny how some of us here are saying Obanikoro bullied is way as the PDP flagbearer and will loose galantly come election time. Let me enlighten you with some information. Every single election he has contentested in which is more than any candidate and even Tinubu himself, he has always by the press and people predicted to loose and somehow some way, he ends up winning. That should say something to you.

Now to set the record straight about the PDP primaries. I dont know how many of you were in the stadium that day, but as someone who was there, I can tell ya'll werent there. I arrived at the stadium at 8.00am on Dec. 9 (1st election) to observe the primaries. Now I witnessed the entrance of all candidates, and I must say it was when KORO arrived I knew that man to beat has entered the stadium. My position was further solidified, when other candidates got up to dance and the crowd response was trivial. When KORO stood up and started dancing waving the crowd, the stadium was ELECTRIFIED. At that point, I considered him the winner of the primaries. When the results however came up and Mrs. Hilda Idowu Williams ended up with those votes, I put my hands on my head. She was the least popular out of all the candidates. When she was dancing, her crowd was minimal, when she went to cast her vote, the crowd that cheered her was minimal. SO WHERE DID HER VOTES COME FROM? Thats what I asked myself. That was when information came to me that she was BODE GEORGE's Candidate. I now said no wonder!!!!. I must let you know that they wanted to announce her as the winner at the 1st election. If not for the people that were shouting that they will have BODE GEORGE's head if they try it. They were also chanting that they were behind KORO. if he didnt have people support, Hilda would have won that election on the basis of her being a woman.

These are things people should know before you talk about somebody bullying somebody. If anything, I believe it was KORO that was bullied by strong men in PDP. Now as for the second election, it was so obvious KORO won that election. I was there as well. This is what happened. The votes are sorted out loud before they are actually counted. Now during the sorting people can keep tally because each vote is announced. If it is KORO, ull hear "KORO" and if it is Hilda, ull hear "HILDA". At the end of the sorting, people ran out jubilating KORO, as a matter of fact the stadium was empty during the counting process only a few people remained to witness the formalities of the actual counting. But because they were desperate and were ready to do anything, PDP State Secretary went to announce Hilda as the winner, the same guy who tried to announce her the winner in the first election. Now after that, Hilda gave her speech and so on. This is what now happened that changed the results, and I must say that's when I knew GOD was on KORO's side.

At the end, Anenih, the Chairman of the electoral panel, Bode George, KORO himself gather on the tracks. Other people surrounded them, but they were the ones conversing. KORO asked for a recount( Of course in that situation, who wouldnt want one). The Chairman denied him his request, he went to Anenih and demanded a recount. He alleged that something was wrong. Doing what he does best, which is to FIX IT, he called the chairman and asked the following questions

Anenih "How many voters were accredited?"

Chairman "6091|

Anenih " How many votes were void?"

Chairman "42"

Anenih " How many for KORO and Hilda"

Chairman "3123 for Mrs. Hilda & 3042 for KORO"

Anenih "42+3123+3042 = 6207, I though you said you accredited 6091"

Chairman "Sorry sir the number was 6230"

Anenih "But you said 6091"

Chairman "We approximated the best we could sir"

KORO" Sir why don't we just recount sir"

Anenih "Will you accept the results if it came out the same?"

KORO "Yes Sir"

Anenih " Chairman why don't we do a recount"

Chairman " Sir my life is being threatened, I suggest the Senator appeal"

That was the last thing he said before entering his jeep and drove off. Now with blantantly wrong figures, and plain disregard to Tony Anenih himself, what do you expect him to do. Of course he has to make sure justice is served and give the mandate to the real winner. KORO won that election let there be no mistakes about that and I BELIEVE he will defeat Fashola silly in the upcoming election. Who is Fashola ? Who knows Fashola? U?

Ok let me address this Femi Pedro issue. I also agree that Pedro is nice guy and all, but by no means can he be the next Governor of Lagos State. He doesn't command the aura required by a Governor. Let's not forget that he is Deputy Governor. As deputy, you can say he is invicible. For crying out loud he is no. 2 in the state, only in name however, not in action. He is not a politician, further more he doesn't have the followership. He can't relate to the PEOPLE, now when I say people, I mean PEOPLE. During the 2003 campaign, he was addressing a crowd in Lagos Island speaking fonetic Yoruba to them, Bola Tinubu had to bail him out. Again his candidacy is kool and all, may be in London and Yankee or something, but as far as naij is concerned LAGOS for that matter, Pedro should go and chill. He should invest his money and do the best he can as Deputy. This race is between KORO n Fashola. And like I said, KORO will defeat Fashola.

llcoolg05,
let me ask u a question? who can be a politician,who is politician.
because u're sayin Pedro is not a politician, are u sayin politician must thug or Area boys or what. Do u think if u,re vibrant that make a politician or what?.

LLcoolg, you amaze me with your comments. grab popcorn, sit back and read my response carefully.

llcoolg05:

Ok let me address this Femi Pedro issue. I also agree that Pedro is nice guy and all, but by no means can he be the next Governor of Lagos State. He doesn't command the aura required by a Governor.

1. He will be the next Governor of Lagos. You under-estimate his campaign strategy. In fact, you are saying exactly the things his campaign people want you to say.

llcoolg05:

Let's not forget that he is Deputy Governor. As deputy, you can say he is invicible. For crying out loud he is no. 2 in the state, only in name however, not in action.

2. if you have resided in lagos for the last 4 years, you will know he GOVERNED lAGOS, not tinbu. I wrote an article in 2004 about tinubu and fashola. go and research it. i challenged them to publish their passport pages to the public, because it was obvious that pedro ran the affairs of the state. what pedro is going to do is run lagos efficiently, like he did his bank. it is a different field, but the same priniciples apply- integrity, honesty, dedication to the job, money and people management skills, this is what lagos needs. a C.E.O., not an A.GBE.RO . NONE, and i repeat, NONE of the other candidates have displayed these attributes in their lifetime. I dare you to prove me wrong.

llcoolg05:

He is not a politician

3. he is a politician- a new breed cosmopolitan politician. he is what Sheriff Balogun, a prominent editor at thisday, called a paradigm shift politician. He is exactly what the people of lagos, and nigeria, need

llcoolg05:

he doesn't have the followership

4. believe you me, he has followership. but just like his style, his followers are not loud screaming all over the place. they are quietly mobilizing themselves. Let me give you an example. the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Lagos Branch have quietly endorsed him. there are 4.5 million members of the PFN in Lagos. over 1 million of them have already registered to vote and Lagos history shows that if you can secure 800-900 thousand votes, you will win. so you will see on election day his followerhsip.

llcoolg05:

He can't relate to the PEOPLE, now when I say people, I mean PEOPLE. During the 2003 campaign, he was addressing a crowd in Lagos Island speaking fonetic Yoruba to them, Bola Tinubu had to bail him out.

5. when you say he does not relate with the PEOPLE, you confuse me. this is because Lagos is dynamic- Lagos is made up of a diverse PEOPLE- common man, elite, market woman, corporate man, igbos, yorubas, xtians, muslems, etc. no single group- be it ethnic, religious or professional- entirely dominates Lagos statistically speaking. lagos is not oyo, or taraba (with all due respect to both states). Pedro relates to the people better than the others. first of all, i don't know where you got your story about his weak yourba from. from what we understand,he was born and raised in epetedo. he was even in koros amadiya school, though koro was his junior by 5 years. because he is not an amala and gbegiri-style politician does not mean he does not relate ith the people.

llcoolg05:

as far as naij is concerned LAGOS for that matter, Pedro should go and chill. He should invest his money and do the best he can as Deputy. This race is between KORO n Fashola. And like I said, KORO will defeat Fashola.

This race is between PEDRO,Koro, fashola, Agbaje, Afikuyomi, Gbajabiamilla and Adiku Bakare. The field is spread out, and from the substitutions of so called chieftans going on between PDP and AC, they will loose tons of votes. as far as i am concerned, he is the most qualified candidate. Koro still has to explain to us what he did to city hall money. besides, he is running under PDP, the same pdp that witheld lagos money. the same pdp that killed funsho williams. be deceiving yourself if you think lagos in its entirety will vote in a party and a candidate as such. good luck

take it or leave it, mr pedro will win this election

Ok I like this, its good has we've started identifying ourselves with one of the candidates. Let me start with City Hall. Don't know if you know, but only the Chairman's office got burnt in city hall (i.e the top right wing office). the Secretary and Treasurer's office were untouched hence all the documents are still intact. Infact the documents are in Alausa today. Let me also remind you that that was the military era, a no nonsense. Marwa set up in investigative panel that cleared KORO of all allegations that he was the one who torched city hall, so lets not dwell on that.

As far a the quiet mobilization your talking about, I'm just waiting to see what will come of it come april. This is Nigeria my brother not yankee or jand like I previously said. The voters believe it or not consitute mostly of these area boys, oloja people and co. These are the people who are politically active. The religious organizations are also active on a lower scale. Its unfortunate that its that way, but that is the truth. I like Pedro, like I said as well, as a matter of fact, I'm friends with all 3 of his boys. so its not a personal thing. I'm to close to Alausa for you to make such statements that Pedro is the one running lagos. What if I told you that Pedro cannot I repeat cannot sign up to 100M would you believe. I Deputy Governor at that. It's a Tinubu show my brother. If Tinubu let Pedro run the country, and he has run it till now, whats the problem with letting him run it for another 8 yeears? Tinubu won't use him because he knows he's too hard of a candidate to sell.

Now to Wale your right anybody can be a politician, I was using the word politician in the naija sense. When they say politician, they are talking about someone who has close ties to the grassroots and understands them to the core and can relate to them. Infact the people see him as part of dem sef, they identify with him. Pedro is not that if you ask me

llcoolg05:

Ok I like this, its good has we've started identifying ourselves with one of the candidates. Let me start with City Hall. Don't know if you know, but only the Chairman's office got burnt in city hall (i.e the top right wing office). the Secretary and Treasurer's office were untouched hence all the documents are still intact. Infact the documents are in Alausa today. Let me also remind you that that was the military era, a no nonsense. Marwa set up in investigative panel that cleared KORO of all allegations that he was the one who torched city hall, so lets not dwell on that.

As far a the quiet mobilization your talking about, I'm just waiting to see what will come of it come april. This is Nigeria my brother not yankee or jand like I previously said. The voters believe it or not consitute mostly of these area boys, oloja people and co. These are the people who are politically active. The religious organizations are also active on a lower scale. Its unfortunate that its that way, but that is the truth. I like Pedro, like I said as well, as a matter of fact, I'm friends with all 3 of his boys. so its not a personal thing. I'm to close to Alausa for you to make such statements that Pedro is the one running lagos. What if I told you that Pedro cannot I repeat cannot sign up to 100M would you believe. I Deputy Governor at that. It's a Tinubu show my brother. If Tinubu let Pedro run the country, and he has run it till now, whats the problem with letting him run it for another 8 yeears? Tinubu won't use him because he knows he's too hard of a candidate to sell.

well, time will tell, lets see how the PDP rally on saturday turns out, and the Labour Party rally on Tuesday. We will guage things from there. I will personally go to both rallies and i will come back with feedback.

about pedro being a hard sell, i mean come on, its clear to all that if Pedro had been "annointed", as opposed to Fashola, Tinubu's cousin, the party would not have broken apart. You say you are close to alausa? then you must have heard about the day Tinubu asked his cabinet (when it was still together, including adikwu, kasali, gbajabiamilla, lawal, etc) to pick one candidate other than themselves who they felt should be the party flag bearer. of the 17 commissioners, 13 picked pedro. 13 of them.

people close to tinubu (and im sure you are) know that its a personal thing. he Personally does not want pedro to take over. out of all the candidates that came out, Pedro was the only one that was never promised or told to come out by tinubu. it has nothing to do with pedro's sellability, because as we are experiencing right now, he is selling well. It is not about competence, beacuse he knows pedro is competent. about the 100million, yes you are right, the deputy governor cannot approve any spending more than 100 million. but what else do you expect? he is the deputy governor! that was tinubu's way of curtailing pedro's ability to govern. essentially, his influence in governance was deliberately limited,



you are rite in pointing out the callibre of voters that come out to vote. but trust me, they wont go to the polling booth asking themselves whether PDP or AC is the way to go. they will ask themselves Koro? Pedro? Fashola?, he is running under Labour. if anything, he is in the best position.

OBANIKORO IS THE ANSWER.

Hey! Noone is saying anything about the pharmacist- JIMI AGBAJE. Me thinks he is the right man for the mighty task of governing lagos but unfortunately he is in the wrong party who knows the party DPA. Tinubu really messed up the AC primaries. Me thinks if he had given all the candidates a level playing field at the primaries, JIMI AGBAJE would have won in almost all the wards and emerged as the AC's candidate. Koro is a tout and another 'remix' of ex-governor Fayose. Me thinks he sucks big time. I guess PDP is rewarding him for supporting the third term bid. D guy is a lousy traitor. The same party that withheld lagos state's funds for months leaving tinubu with no choice but to generate money internally. LASTMA is a good example. You get fined for the slightest traffic offence even in places with no traffic sign.

I definitely will not want to see Obanikoro dere anyway.I will prefer some tested hands.

KORO in Yoruba language means Bitter, so if Koro wins then lagosians we suffer bitterness for 3yrs again, but my prefared candidate that i know and i know is worth to be it 5x10000000 times is JIMI AGBAJE, Although am a family friend to pedro but pedro is out of it don't waste ur vote. VOTE JAY KAY for governor

Oh yes! Jimi Agbaje has got the charm, maturity, intelligence, calmness and professionalism required to govern lagos. Have you guys heard the guy talk? If only he was in AC, If only, He was the first governorship/presidential candidate in lagos to commence the 'register to vote' campaign, thereby getting people to respond to the voter's registration exercise. I expected REMI ADIKWU BAKARE to join him as his running mate. This would have really brightened up his chances at DPA. Instead,she has been criss-crossing parties. I heard AA has dumped her and she has moved to PPA. She is just wasting her time and money. She will end up being disgraced and made no longer politically relevant just like what happened to BUKNOR AKERELE.

Ask Obanikoro what he did in 4 years as Senator representing Lagos.
Obanikoro was one of the major campiagners for the failed third term bid
Was one major senator who did not want Lagos state local govt funds to be released.

OK Funkybaby, 9ja4eva, & Jayon, I think you guys are a little confused on Koro's stance regarding the third term issue. Is case was simple. He wasn't arguing for Obasanjo to go ahead and have a third term like all the other Senators were, he was simple arguing for a constitutional change. Why does Nigeria have a two term limit in the constitution? I think its because the people at the convention modelled the 1999 constitution after the United States constitution. Now the Americans didn't have a term limit on the presidency when their constitution was written, there is a history that led to that Ammendment (If anyone is interested in that history, please ask and I'll share). Nigeria definitely doesn't share that history with the United States so why is there a term limit in our constitution? That was the simple argument KORO made and if every other Senator had made it a constitutional issue rather than a Obansanjo go for third term, I think it would have passed. Plus who said KORO advocated for the constitutional change to apply to the current administration? Because he didn't. So my people again know what you are talking about before go on just writing and chatn.

Like you said my guy, Lets wait for the rallies to take place, Tue is not convinient for me because I have to be at work but I'll be there on Saturday and I'll rely on your humble judgement to tell me which one surpasses the other. KORO is unquestionably the man for the job. Now about Fed. Government withholding funds, Lets get this straight, there were 20 local governments in Lagos state before Tinubu carried is big head to create more and now we have a total of 53 local governments. At 20, Local Government Chairmen were known, respected, and accountable because they had a huge responsibility. At 53, people are confused, they don't even know who their Chairman is. Obj simply asked Tinubu to return the local governments back to 20 but he refused, so he can do GOD KNOWS WHAT WITH THEIR FUNDS. You wonder why there is no development in the state, its not because they witheld the funds after all the funds were released, and what has happened? If you ask me, I'll say not a damn thing!!!!

Tafar Im feeling you O, KORO all the way!!!!!

@ KORO
**hiss**
the only time i heard the guy ever speak or noticed throughout his 8years he has been in the senate is during the third term bid. What was the constitutional change about? What was the third term bid about. They go hand in hand so do not use words or phrases here to confuse us. After all, Dr. MAMORA is in the senate with koro. He has made great contributions in the senate. Why did koro decamp to pdp after he won his re-election in 2003? He would have lost boxers *oops*pants down. Why did he change his surname to OBANIKORO? That is not the name of his father or grand father. It is just like saying because i reside in london, so therefore my surname must be london. I am looking forward to his disgrace at the polls in april. I have said it, and i will say it again, the guy has nothing upstairs, he is a traitor and a tout. Tinubu will personally make sure he is disgraced. Tell koro to go and ask OGUNLEWE what happened to him. He was a traitor like koro. PDP tried using him to get at tinubu and at lagos state. Where is he today? He has been used and dumped by obasanjo and pdp.

i would really prefer pedro

why

fashola : will be tinubu's stooge

koro: turned himself into a failure considering LILG, TINUBU'S COMMISSIONERSHIP AND THE SENATE

Afikuyomi: not a focused politician and lacks the drive


for pedro to have declared for LP while serving as tinbu's deputy not minding the risk of been impeached i salute his courage