The Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, Abdulazeez Olajide Adediran, Aka, Jandor has hinted that merger and alignment talks are ongoing among governorship candidates in the state to defeat the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 2023 governorship election.
He spoke in response to a question at the private sector engagement forum organised for governorship candidates by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday.
Three candidates including Jandor, those of Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and African Democratic Congress (ADC), Funsho Doherty were in attendance, but Sanwo-Olu was absent.
While the two other governorship candidates in response to a question on a possible merger to defeat the incumbent governor said the process was complicated, the PDP candidate confirmed that talks were ongoing among the candidates with a view to defeating Sanwo-Olu.
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He said he personally met Doherty to discuss the merger issues, saying he had a similar discussion with Rhodes-Vivour, saying all the candidates are in alignment on the need to change the status quo which he described as “nonsense.”
He said, “There is an alignment in our aspiration. I strongly believe we need to come together. Talks are ongoing to see what we can do and we are doing it. We must put our best [foot] forward and see who can win for us. We need to win first. After dislodging them, we can then come up with a cabinet that would be all-inclusive.”
The engagement session with the organized private sector organised by the LCCI in Lagos was attended by some governorship candidates.
Sanwo-Olu, who was absent, had earlier made it clear that he would not attend any debate that brings him together with other governorship candidates.
The LCCI through its Vice-President, Mr. Gabriel Idahosa, said the forum was organised to know the plans of the candidates to address issues of insecurity, unemployment, poor road network affecting the state.
The candidates in their separate remarks said the Lagos State’s wealth is not commensurate with the development, saying the state is only working for the few.
Jandor specifically vowed to eliminate multiple taxation, touting and improve the ease of doing business in the state especially for start-ups.
According to him, this would stop the situation where businesses relocate out of the state.
“We will create hubs in all the five divisions in Lagos by encouraging the younger people to realise their potentials,” he said.
He said his administration would adopt a tech approach to governance if elected in order to eliminate a whole lot of bureaucracy.
