Lagos 2011: The Dicey Game

Written by ADEWALE AJAYI
Saturday, 09 October 2010

Governor Babatunde Fashola
As the race for the governorship position in Lagos State ahead of the 2011 election gets interesting, ADEWALE AJAYI examines the chances of the aspirants.

IT is yet unclear which of the political parties that have their presence in Lagos State will produce the next governor.

It appears uncertain if the incumbent governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, will be given the ticket to run for a second term in office by his party, given the political intrigues that are currently in play.

Of all the 63 political parties registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), only two have significant presence in the state and aspirants have shown interest to contest on those platforms. The parties are Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The other parties are still invisible despite the fact that elections might hold in about six months.

Even in ACN, members are yet to make their intention to contest the governorship race public, but there are surreptitious moves in the camps of those who appear to be interested. This is because the party is yet to decide whether Governor Fashola will be allowed to run for a second term or not. Checks, however, indicate that the coast may be clear for him to run for a second term.

Findings show that those who are eyeing the governorship position in ACN include the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Honourable Adeyemi Ikuforiji and the Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire.

Within the PDP fold, seven aspirants are nursing the ambition to run and they have picked nomination forms for the post. They are former Minister of Defence (state), Mr. Demola Seriki; former deputy governor of the state, Mr. Femi Pedro; former Director General/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Ade Dosunmu; Mr. Owolabi Salis, Mr. Tokunbo Kamson, Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi and Kudus Folami.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the battle for the soul of Lagos will be between the ACN and the PDP. The parties have remained the major contenders for the position in the last 11 years. Whether the table will turn in favour of the PDP this time round is a food for thought.

Babatunde Fashola
Before he emerged governor, he was Chief of Staff in the administration of former Governor Bola Tinubu. He was less popular then among the people of the state, because he confined himself to the job he was appointed to do.

Now, most of the challenges that have confronted his administration since 2007 were hinged on the fact that he was not amenable to how politicians behave in some circumstances. There is no doubt that his administration has performed creditably in some areas and that might enhance his chances of getting the ACN ticket to run for a second term. However, some schools of thought have argued that his performances were relatively concentrated in the urban areas with little or no attention paid to rural areas and satellite towns. That accounted for why the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Ikuforuji, tackled him when he was presenting the 2010 budget. He alleged that Fashola had not done enough and that he should not be obsessed with the accolades he had received so far that he had performed.

Muiz Banire
He was a lecturer before former Governor Tinubu appointed him commissioner during his first term in office. He was commissioner for special duties and from there, he was moved to the Ministry of Transportation and later seconded to Ministry of Environment.

His interest in the race initially was informed by the fact that the incumbent governor allegedly had an agreement with his political godfather to serve for just a term. Banire was said to have capitalised on the said agreement, hence, he started oiling his political machinery to succeed Fashola.

Adeyemi Ikuforiji
Before his election into the House of Assembly in 2003, he was a lecturer in the United States of America. Upon his election, he had his eye on the speakership position, which he contested with Honourable Jokotola Pelumi, who eventually got the ticket. When Pelumi was impeached by his colleagues in December 2005, Ikuforiji was elected the speaker.

He became the darling of Tinubu during his tenure as governor because he was able to put the House in order. That feat earned him his reelection as Speaker in 2007, ostensibly in order to assist in checkmating Governor Fashola. It was said that it was in demonstration of this that his political godfather has resolved to compensate him with higher position of governorship in case the incumbent refuses to ‘behave’.

Ade Dosunmu
He is said to be one of the loyalists of Chief Olabode George. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of NIMASA when George was the chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA). He was first appointed as an administrative staff before he was promoted.

His interest in the race has the blessing of his political godfather. He is pulling weight among members of the party and most of George’s loyalists are determined to work for him. For instance, on the day he declared his intention to run, he was followed to the PDP secretariat by a large number of party members, who were mainly from Lagos Island where he is from.

Tokunbo Kamson
He is former general manager of Lagos State Water Corporation. When he retired, he decided to take a shot at the governorship race in the 2007 election. He came third in the party primaries of that year.
This is the second time he will be showing interest in the race. His strength has been his ability to oil his political machinery and have a hold on his supporters.

Demola Seriki
Seriki has been in the party for a while. He took a shot at political office when he contested the senatorial seat for Lagos Central Senatorial in 2007. He was appointed minister of state by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. He was in office until he was relieved of his appointment by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

His decision to run for governorship position may have been influenced by his rising profile because of his appointment as a minster, but the fact remains that he does not have a large followership.

Femi Pedro
Pedro was appointed former Governor Tinubu’s deputy when Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele resigned the position. He was impeached by the House of Assembly less than two months to the end of the administration.

The politician, who has banking experience, ran for the governorship position in 2007 on the platform of Labour Party (LP), after he was denied the ticket in the Action Congress. It is being argued whether he is eligible for election or not due to the impeachment saga. This notwithstanding, he has a sizeable number of followership.

Owolabi Salis
Salis was based abroad before he made his mark in politics in 2007 when he contested for the governorship position on the platform of Action Party of Nigeria (APN). The party’s performance in that year’s election was woeful and this might have influenced his decision to join PDP. He is said not to have many followers.

Babatunde Gbadamosi
Though he is not popular in the political circles, Gbadamosi is from a renowned family in Ikorodu. His family background may, to some extent, be an advantage for him.

Kudus Folami
He is a former vice chairman of PDP in Lagos West and was appointed a top official of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He is popular among members of the party.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/politics-analysis/2189-lagos-2011-the-dicey-game-.html