Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, there has been a surge in momentum in Lagos state as political parties and their candidates intensify efforts to win the electorate’s support and votes.
Earlier fixed for Saturday, March 11, 2023, the governorship and states’ House of Assembly elections were later shifted to March 18, 2023, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The one-week extension has not only afforded the three-leading governorship candidates in Nigeria’s commercial capital to renew their campaign strategies but also has intensified the suspense of Nigerians over the outcome of the election.
The frontline governorship candidates in Lagos state are Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP) and Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The reason many Nigerians are interested in the Lagos state, a stronghold of the APC, governorship poll is not far-fetched.
In the recent presidential polls, Bola Tinubu of the APC, a former governor of Lagos state and the eventual winner of the election, lost the state to Peter Obi of the LP.
The shocking performance of the LP in the February 25 polls might not be unconnected to the evergreen event of October 20, 2022, when unarmed #EndSARS protesters gathered at the Lekki Tollgate was dispersed with gunshots by the military which led to scores of deaths.
Still angered by the Lekki Tollgate incident and the silence of the APC-led government both at the state and federal level to account for who ordered the shootings, the Lagos electorate protested on the ballot papers against the APC on Saturday, February 25.
Riding on the victory of his party in Lagos state during the presidential polls, Rhodes-Vivour, who like Obi enjoys a huge following on social media, threatens the re-election of the incumbent governor, Sanwo-Olu.
The momentum the LP candidate is gaining has since unsettled the entire political structure in the state, breeding fear, anxiety and panic as the forthcoming polls appear to be unpredictable, particularly as neither Tinubu nor his appointed candidates have lost the state to the opposition since 1999.
However, though Lagosians are eagerly waiting to protest again during this weekend’s polls, the APC is keen on preventing any upset on March 18.
Apart from consulting religious leaders and ethnic groups, particularly the Igbos, the ruling party has also embarked on door-to-door campaigns in a bid to secure its second term bid.
While the LP’s Rhodes-Vivour is, clearly, the candidate with the greatest momentum, PDP’s Jandor is unrelenting in his efforts to become the next governor of the economic hub of West Africa.
Undoubtedly, the strong battle for the office of the governor of the megacity has reached its climax and Nigerians are expecting an exciting denouement in a few days.
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