Deputy Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State Funke Akindele has admitted that she is a political neophyte having joined the party about three months ago.
Akindele, whose nomination was announced on Tuesday, featured on Channels’ Television ‘Politics Today’ yesterday.
According to the Nollywood actress, she decided to join politics after weighing the option on herself, fans, career and the people of Lagos.
She dismissed alleged perception that her nomination was not well-thought out, saying the governorship candidate, Olajide Adediran, made the right choice in her.
The actress said Adediran encouraged her to do so, a step she said was in the ‘right direction and she could not afford to ignore’.
She added: “I have been managing people for over two decades and I know where the shoe pinches many of our people in Lagos.”
Asked when she decided to join politics, Akindele said: “I became a member of the PDP about three months ago. The governorship candidate of our party, Olajide Adediran, approached me and I saw it as an opportunity to join him rescue the state from the state of infrastructure deficit.
“Although I have been managing people for over two decades, the interest to join politics in the state was ignited when Jandor, our governorship candidate, approached me to do it together with him. Immediately, I jumped at it.”
Akindele, who said she was tired of complaining, said she is coming for the children, youths and women.
Asked on her plan to make the claimed impact in Lagos, she said efforts were on to review the level of challenges in Lagos. This, according to her, will guide the party on how to go about their development plan.
Asked for the party’s chances of winning the election in 2023, she said: “The governorship candidate and myself have our followers both on the social media and at the grassroots.”
Akindele said she has been getting positive feedbacks and reception from the people since she declared her intention. She, however, admitted she has received a lot of backlash for joining the PDP. But she said since her intention is to win, she needed to ‘identify with a party with a structure and solid base, which is the PDP’.