NIGERIA: Akiolu Endorses Ambode for Lagos Guber Race

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The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, yesterday threw his weight behind the aspiration of the former Lagos State Accountant-General, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to contest the 2015 governorship election in the state.
 
 
He, however, expressed strong opposition to the ambition of an aspirant, whom he said, his father "is a traditional ruler in Ewekoro, Ogun State to become the Governor of Lagos State.”
 
The monarch expressed support for Ambode’s governorship aspiration at public presentation of his biography, The Act of Selfless Service at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
 
At the presentation of the biography by Mr. Marina Osoba, Akiolu endorsed Ambode for governorship race, saying the royal fathers in the state “have consulted widely with the sons and daughters of Lagos.”
 
Upon the consultation, Akiolu said the royal fathers “have come to the conclusion that the best person to take over from Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) is Akinwunmi Ambode. You people know me well that I do not hide my feelings on where I stand on issues.”
 
He, therefore, observed that Lagos cannot have a man like Ambode and allow somebody whose father is an Oba in Ewekoro, Ogun State to become 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,” he explained.
 
He, however, said he “is not against anybody contesting for the 2015 governorship election in the state and that all political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) have their own procedure for selecting their candidates for elections.”
 
Akiolu acknowledged that he had the constitutional right to endorse any of the aspirants he adjudged as the right candidate for the position as it was done in other climes.
He said he had exercised his right by endorsing Ambode as a man who stood on a pedestal of integrity and selfless service above all others to lead the Lagos of today to higher height tomorrow.
 
Also speaking, the APC national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, described Ambode as an industrious public servant who developed the           template for the re-engineering of the financial sector of Lagos State.
 
Tinubu, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Mr. Fola Arthur-Worry, recalled that Ambode did not only re-engineer the finances of Lagos but also developed the blueprint on how Lagos survived when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president unilaterally and unconstitutionally seized the local government funds from the federation account.
 
He added that this was as a result of the decision of the government of Lagos State “to create more local governments to bring government closer to the people at the grassroots.
 
In a swift reaction, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the pronouncement of Oba Akiolu, describing Ambode as an anointed governorship candidate of Tinubu.
 
The party said now that the Oba had openly manifested his partisanship and favouritism for a party and aspirant,  it has no choice but to call the Oba to prder.
 
 
In a statement signed by Toafik Gani, the party said: “The oba's action is regrettable and very unbecoming of a Ruler expected to be a father for all. His decision to openly descend into the murky waters of partisan politics has unequivocally confirmed him as not fit and proper to be a ruler, talkless of Oba of Lagos. “He must therefore apologise to Lagosians and publicly retract the endorsement of Ambode within seven days."
 
The Lagos State PDP further accused the oba of vindicating the party's accusation that his palace and some other palaces  had always been used to rig elections in the past, vowing that any palace used to rig in the coming elections and the riggers would be destroyed.
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