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Tag: Agbaje

  • Buhari, Jonathan, true statemen -Agbaje

    Buhari, Jonathan, true statemen -Agbaje

    Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has praised President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari for displaying true sportsmanship and statesmanship in the presidential election.

    In a statement by Felix Oboagwina, Director of Media and Publicity to Mr. Agbaje, the PDP Governorship Candidate commended President Jonathan for placing the nation ahead of personal and party interests by conceding defeat to Buhari.

    “Many in Nigeria and the international community had feared that 2015 would witness post-election violence and explosion in the nation,” he said. “But the pre-election and post-election disposition of these competing candidates has defused the tension and frustrated all evil prognoses.”

    According to him, the two had shown themselves as true nationalists.

    Agbaje described President Jonathan as a man of history, being not only the first incumbent leader to concede defeat to the opposition, but one of the few African leaders who did not have the sit-tight or do-or-die attitude to politics.

    Congratulating Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for their victory, Agbaje prayed that their reign would usher in peace and prosperity to every part of Nigeria.

    He said that by the result of the polls in Lagos, Lagosians had demonstrated that they were ready for change in the state.

    According to him, PDP’s commendable performance at the three elections came about as a synergy between indigenes and non-indigenes.

    “The results were a victory for democracy in Lagos State,” he said.

    Agbaje also congratulated Federal legislators emerging from the elections, saying, they must remember that they owed their victory to the people and they should be ready to serve the electorate.

    He urged Lagosians to hold firmly to their resolve to produce change at the April 11 governorship and state house of assembly polls.

    However, Agbaje urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to solve the several headaches that bedevilled the polls, including, lateness of polling staff at duty posts, malfunctioning card readers and the unholy alliance between officials and APC.

    “INEC owes Nigerians the duty to deliver free, fair and credible elections and the Commission must do everything humanly possible to check and avoid failure,” he said.

  • Jonathan loses at Aso Villa units

    Jonathan loses at Aso Villa units

    •Sambo, Agbaje, Ribadu, Bode George, Obanikoro, Fani-Kayode, others lose at units

    Some heavyweight politicians lost their polling units in yesterday’s elections.

    A major loss by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the one at the two polling units in front of Aso Villa – the Presidential abode.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari won in the two units.

    Buhari got a total of 613 votes, while Jonathan polled a total of 595 votes.

    Vice President Namadi Sambo got the same treatment in the former polling unit (Kabala 005) in Kaduna where the APC received overwhelming majority of votes.

    The APC scored 386 votes to beat the PDP that scored 53 votes in the presidential election. APC got 385 and 369 votes in the senate and house of assembly elections respectively while the PDP got 59 and 62 respectively.

    The results were announced by the presiding officer Abdulfatah Ali.

    In Lagos State Governorship candidate Jimi Agbaje’s Apapa polling unit the APC won 126 votes while PDP won 60.

    In the senate contest, APC polled 129 while PDP won 61.

    In the House of Representatives race, APC won 126 while the PDP won 62.

    PDP governorship candidate in Adamawa State Nuhu Ribadu failed to deliver his Yola polling unit to Jonathan.

    In the presidential contest APC won 320 votes to PDP’s 124   while in the senatorial race, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) candidate won 271 votes to PDP’s 73.

    PDP Southwest leader Chief Olabode George’s Evans Street polling unit on Lagos Island also fell to the APC candidate who took it narrowly with 109 votes to PDP’s 108.

    Minister of State Foreign Affairs 2 Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro lost in his bid to deliver his unit to Jonathan.

    Minister of National Planning, Dr. Sulaiman Abubakar, failed in his polling unit 006, Ode-Opobiyi Agbaji area (Ilorin West Local Government Area) in the presidential election with 146 votes to 39.

    PDP Presidential campaign council spokesman Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode also could not deliver his unit. He voted in Ile Ife, Osun State.

    At PG Hall Ife Centre 013/11, the APC candidate scored 127 to PDP’s 45 votes.

    But Vice President Namadi Sambo won his polling unit at Police College unit with 105 votes to the APC’s 20.

    But Kaduna State APC Governorship candidate Nasir El Rufai got 430 votes in his Urgwan Sarki’s unit for the APC candidate to PDP’s 11.

    Ex-Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna) also failed to deliver.

    Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar won his Ajiya polling unit in Adamawa State for Gen. Buhari with 280 votes to Jonathan’s 60 votes.

    At APC Presidential running mate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s VGC unit in Lekki, Lagos, the APC won 718 votes to PDP’s 138.

    Some other unit results are:

    APC wins in Obasanjo’s unit

    At Obasanjo’s polling unit ward, APC polled 98 against PDP’s 8 and SDP 12 for the House of Representatives seat. For Senate, APC got 93, PDP 8 and SDP 15.

    Results at ex-Governor Bola Tinubu’s voting unit 047 in Alausa Ikeja.

    Presidential APC 180, PDP 55, Senate APC 181 and PDP 53, Reps: APC 61

    Senator Tinubu’s unit 034 Ikoyi, Lagos

    Presidential: APC 106, PDP 25

    Senate: APC 103, PDP 16

    Reps: APC 103, PDP 16

    Governor Fashola’s State Grammar School, Surulere 002

    President 318, PDP 135

    Senate APC318, PDP 129

    Rep APC 326, PDP 114

    House minority leader Femi Gbajabiamila Elizabeth Fowler PU 014

    President APC 123, PDP 81, Senate APC 118, PDP 64

    Rep: APC 124, PDP 46

    Ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi’s polling unit 09 Ward 11 Isan Ekiti

    President APC 140, PDP 24

    Senate APC 135, PDP 21

    Rep APC 142, PDP 22

    Senator Gbenga Ashafa’s Bogije polling unit in Ibeju Lekki

    President APC 385, PDP 250, Senate APC 406, PDP 236 and Rep APC 386.

    The APC candidate has also won the election in the two polling units 021 and 022 inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The total votes scored in the two units showed that APC got 597 votes while PDP garnered 567 votes.

    Sorting and counting for the presidential election in the two units are still ongoing.

     

  • What’s up with Agbaje’s campaign?

    What’s up with Agbaje’s campaign?

    A HUGE lull appears to have set in, in the campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje. The momentum, which characterised the commencement of Agbaje’s campaign, has waned in the last three weeks, prompting many observers to ask what’s up.

    Unconfirmed reports claim that the current happenings in the candidate’s campaign is due to several factors, including lack of synergy among leading stakeholders in the party and mutual distrust to mention but a few.

  • Agbaje vs Ambode: Beyond the résumés

    Segun Ayobolu’s column, ‘illuminations’ of last and penultimate Saturdays, in the Saturday Nation provided a great opportunity to have another close look at the gubernatorial gladiators that are jostling to rule Lagos state. They are: Jimi Agbaje of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Akinwunmi Ambode of All Progressives Congress (APC). In the said publications, Ayobolu dwelled on the Curriculum Vitaes(CVs) of both candidates, and consequently raised a poser.

    Attempting to answer the poser raised by Ayobolu is for me a duty not only to Lagosians or its residents but of course to an average Nigerian whose interest directly or indirectly has to do with Lagos. For the avoidance of doubt, let us look at the question again. In whose hand – Agbaje or Ambode, will it be safer and wiser to entrust the almost one trillion dollar economy of Lagos State, especially at this critical period of the state’s evolution?.

    Ayobolu was generous enough to lead us into the contents of the CVs of these two men who are angling to take over the governance of Lagos come May 29th, 2015. As characteristic of any debate, participants are expected to take  the side  of the discourse convenient to marshal their  points. However, the slight difference here is that the Ambode/Agbaje discourse has been helped with the candidates credentials thrown into the public domain. The basis for comparison has thus been made easy and convenient.

    My immediate reaction was to verify the source of CVs of the candidates Ayobolu referred to. That the information was obtained from the WEBSITE did not only make it authentic but representative of an official information that each aspirant would want the public to know about them at this material  point. The investigator in me did check the two candidates websites and confirmed the correctness of Ayobolu’s CVs claims.

    Discussing in whose hand Lagos will be safer and wiser, majority of the answers will surely favour Ambode. A quick perusal of the two gentlemen CVs readily puts Ambode shoulder high. And why do I say so? The status and character of Lagos viz-a-viz its metropolitan and cosmopolitan outlook, the volume of its business in the neighbourhood of a trillion dollars and need to harness the existing potentials to greater heights can only  be appreciated by an Ambode who has a sound finance  background and  coupled with his meritorious experience as a former civil and public servant at the local and state governments  realm during which he played roles such as Accountant, Treasurer, Auditor-general of Local Government, Permanent Secretary-Ministry of Finance and above all, the Accountant General of Lagos State simultaneously.

    Ambode knows Lagos State inside out as far as governance issues, policy and challenges are concerned having worked in both the formulation and implementation of policies stages that had been used to govern Lagos over the years. Ambode had been part of the Lagos Development Agenda Policy from the days of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during which Lagos State Revenue generation hit the billion-naira mark. So Ambode’s experience is in quantum.

    The way and manner Ambode demonstrated competence in managing the resources of the state during the locust era when the federal government almost strangulated the state, through the non-release of the state allocations, was the saving grace of survival of the state then. This surely puts him in a better stead.

    From the CV of Jimi Agbaje, his experience as a pharmacist of note cannot be faulted as all notable positions held are straight jacketed within the narrowness of a Pharmacist and Pharmaceutical Association responsibilities. An appointment in the health sector either as a commissioner for health or in NAFDAC will have been a more appropriate pursuit for Jimi Agbaje.

    Talking about how crucial, time is, in Lagos evolution, Ambode had been part of the steady and critical evolution of Lagos State for the past 27 years as a policy maker and stakeholder until his retirement. And even after his retirement, his current consultancy service to Federal, State and Local governments on challenges in the world economy and best financial practices puts him shoulder high and makes him more current with global and economic trends today than Agbaje.

    At this point in time, Lagos State needs concentration and consolidation in its pursuit of global megacity status, increased profile in good governance, improved service delivery and financial prosperity which of course requires a genius who can deepen and widen the resource base for the greater benefits of Lagosians. Ambode knows where Lagos is coming from, where it is today and where it is going to and how to get there. Right from day one, Ambode will hit the ground running whereas this cannot honestly be said about Agbaje.

    Can we compare Ambode with Agbaje who has difficulty in understanding what to do with Lagos economy unless Goodluck Jonathan wins?. I felt sorry for Agbaje the other time when he was quoted as saying  that Nigerian economy by extension the Nigerian nation will collapse if Jonathan does not return; and again when he said that he was going to dot Lagos landscape with Internet hotspots in an economy in which energy is comatose. One wonders if these are his bold ideas. Truth is Agbaje still needs to learn the ropes when it comes to public and corporate governance. He lacks the requisite experience to govern Lagos state for now. Whereas Ambode is well equipped having served under the progressive leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and of course, the diligent actualiser, Babatunde Raji Fashola(SAN).

    But beyond the CVs of the duo of Ambode and Agbaje are other issues of antecedents, personal pedigree, political platform on which both are seeking the votes of Lagosians. Agbaje has the burden of a failed PDP hanging on its neck while Ambode carries the grace of APC, a party that is associated with progressive and sterling performances. Beyond the CVs also are the issues of personal accomplishments, serious-mindedness, sense of purpose and of course,  the understanding of the job at hand and capacity to do it.

    With due respect, Ambode has symbolizes the portrait of an all round personality required to govern a state like Lagos. This is carefully demonstrated in the scope and content of his campaign which dwell on policy issues, functional areas of development, empowerment of youths, business promotion and security, environment, promotion of  formal and informal sectors,  and of course, women development, among others.

    Serious understanding of issues and purposeful intentions are obviously missing in Agbaje’s campaign. Despite the big ideas concept being flaunted, all you hear is –JK is Okay, JK you Know JK you Trust. JK that is known and trusted for what? His pharmaceutical exploits? His jumping from one party to the other? His non-existent big ideas? Is it the establishment of Internet Hotpots all over Lagos or the promise of True Lagos or Lagos for all? What campaign promises are these? Is the current Lagos not for all? This campaign is clearly bereft of ideas and lacks any cognitive input.

    To answer Ayobolu’s question pointedly, one thinks Lagosians, Lagos Economy and its Mega City ascendancy  will be safer and more secure with Ambode than Jimi Agbaje. Ambode has the requisite experience, the professional and intellectual capacities, the right political and technocratic platforms, over the years, at both the local and state levels. He had been involved in policy formulation and execution to the glory of God and in service to humanity.

    The difference between Ambode and Agbaje is very clear like 7-Up. Lagosians will surely be safer and more secure in the hands of Ambode as the new Lagos State Governor come May 29,2015.

    • Akin Bashiru is a Public Affairs and Corporate Governance.
  • Agbaje warns supporters against violence

    Agbaje warns supporters against violence

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has called on his supporters to eschew violence.

    Agbaje, who spoke against the backdrop of a peace pact signed by governorship candidates, said no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of violence.

    He said not a single death has been recorded since his campaign across the state, the PDP abhors any form of violence, Agbaje, who spoke during his campaign in Mushin and Oshodi/Isolo urged party members to continue to be law-abiding.

    He urged them not to retaliate when his campaign materials were defaced on the third Mainland Bridge.

    “I want to let you know that there is no reason for us to be violent because whatever the form the coming election is going to take, we shall defeat them”

    “Everybody has seen that we have better ideas as a party, let us continue to be peaceful because victory is ours” he said.

    He blamed the absence of infrastructural facilities after sixteen years on the ruling APC in Lagos, saying the party’s performance has been far from satisfactory, as the people cannot boast of even potable water.

  • Ambode, Agbaje sign peace pact

    Ambode, Agbaje sign peace pact

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Jimi Agbaje, yesterday signed a peace accord to maintain peace before and after the election.

    The accord was signed at the Electoral Security Roundtable sponsored by the United States Embassy on Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The peace deal was at the instance of the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, who said there was need for politicians to douse the tension in the country by maintaining peace and engaging in issue-based campaign.

    The candidates also pledged, on behalf of their supporters, to promote peaceand commitment to the judicial process.

    At the ceremony were the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Archbishop Alfred Martins, National Missioner of Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Imam Abdulrahaman Ahmad, Senior Pastor, House on the Rock, Pastor Paul Adefarasin and National Missioner of Fatil-ul-Qareeb Islamic Society, Sheikh Abdurrahaman Adangba.

    After the ceremony, Agbaje called on his supporters to eschew violence. He said he was happy that there has been no death since he started his campaign.

    The PDP candidate, who spoke during his campaign in Mushin and Oshodi/Isolo yesterday, called on party members to be law abiding.

    “I want to let you know that there is no reason for us to be violent because whatever the form the election is going to take, we are prepared. Everybody has seen that we have better ideas, let us continue to be peaceful because victory is ours,” he said.

  • Agbaje’s ‘godfatherism’ postulation

    Olujimi Kolawole Agbaje needs little introduction in the politics of Lagos state. The man popularly called JK, a once-upon-a-time progressive is surprisingly the Lagos governorship candidate of the conservative Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He stoked the fire of curiosity recently when he declared publicly as widely reported in the newspapers that he is the ‘best man to rule Lagos because he has no godfather that can influence him negatively in office.’

    Rather than address issues germane to governance and general well-being of Lagosians, he played to the gallery before newsmen by laboriously trying to present himself as a man of himself and also by notifying Lagosians about his witch-hunting expeditious plan if ever he gets the chance to rule the state. He declared: “When it was time to choose my running mate, I chose my running mate, nobody chose her for me. The issue of a godfather hampering

    service delivery is not even on the table. I don’t have a godfather. I want the people to believe me that it won’t happen.”

    Agbaje may be competent to speak publicly on several issues but not on that of political godfatherism because his aversion for it contradicted how he got the governorship ticket slot in his new found love party- the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). Permit me to refresh readers’ memory by re-presenting the result and whole essence of party primaries that produced Agbaje as governorship candidate of PDP direct from the mouth of his major challenger, Musiliu Obanikoro: “The entire primary was a sham. I still cannot comprehend how accredited delegates of 806 will turn out to be 868. To be honest with you, with the benefit of hindsight, you can tell that the outcome was predetermined.’’

    Perhaps it is pertinent to ask: Who were those powerful PDP figures that predetermined the outcome of the Kangaroo primaries that produced Agbaje as governorship candidate? They are two including Bode George and Seye Ogunleye both central figures in the PDP central administration’s plan to cause chaos in Lagos. The two leading PDP leaders are beneficiaries of godfatherism in all their political lives and will not support a candidate that would not treat them as such and therein lies the fallacy of Agbaje’s statement. Up till today, he has not denied the fraudulent discrepancy that gave him the PDP ticket, rather, he has been rationalising the political charade.

    Yet, Akin Ambode, the candidate of All Progressives Congress(APC) empirically made nonsense of the claim of godfatherism when after intense campaign across the 57 local governments in the state participated in the APC governorship primaries, widely acknowledged as the fairest, to emerge as progressive flag bearer in an untainted primary.

    Ambode scored 3,735 votes while the aspirant that came second, Obafemi Hamzat

    scored a distant 1,201 votes where more importantly and unlike that of PDP, the number of approved delegates was not more than the number of votes cast. The result of the APC primaries was a consequence of political decency of the APC candidate in Ambode and the PDP’s sham primaries result that of the primitiveness of Agbaje’s godfathers that he has futilely been trying to deny in public. Agbaje should stop living a life of political denial.

    Apart from the issues of primaries, the political trajectory of Agbaje since his days in his touted Afenifere cliché, down to PDP, gave him away as someone that was in search of godfathers that would make his desperate governorship aspiration come true which he now, albeit erroneously, thinks he has found in Bode George and Ogunlewe. Two symbols of what a godfather should not be.

    Jimi Agbaje, a pharmacist, in his desperation to become Lagos governor dumped JAYKAY Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company Limited that he founded in 1982 precisely 10 years ago. He had a deceitful dalliance meant to hoodwink the undiscerning public with the progressive Action Congress (AC), his first political party. He left in 2007 to join the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) in search of his governorship ambition after losing the party’s governorship ticket to incumbent Babatunde Raji Fashola in the primaries. In

    his typical domineering way, he deliberately ran the DPA aground in the state which was one of the compelling reasons why INEC de-registered the party. Is this the man Lagosians want as governor? Absolutely No! This intentional act of his paved the way for him to join the reactionary party that has always been after his heart-the PDP.

    He got to PDP and hijacked the two main godfathers there to the chagrin of co-aspirants for the governorship ticket. What obtains in PDP now because of overtly ambitious Agbaje is fragile peace of the grave yard. It cannot last beyond February 28 when Agbaje, a serial loser would have once again lost the governorship contest.

    In contrast to this deceitful profile of Agbaje is that of Ambode who in the short period of his emergence on the political firmament of Lagos has endeared himself to millions of people in the state. Ambode as finance intellectual was a success and as a career civil servant, a shining star and beacon of hope to the young folks. As a serving civil servant and chief custodian of Lagos treasury, his unflinching commitment was not in doubt as he buried himself in bureaucratic obscurity in accordance with the civil service norm of being seen but not heard.

    He helped the state to escape the illegal seizure of Lagos funds by former President Olusegun Obasanjo after the creation of additional local councils in the state by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s

    administration. He created the successful financial infrastructural template at the time.

    Ambode was responsible for the global revenue and expenditure profile of the state government; he also provided admirable financial leadership and supervision to over a thousand accountants across all ministries and agencies in the state. He was in the forefront of financial strategy formulation process for the operations and growth of Lagos State Treasury

    Office (STO) and for implementation and meeting of the State finance requirements. All these were attained because of his well grounded academic background both home and abroad.

    He graduated with Honours in Accounting at age 21 from the University of Lagos and became a Chartered Accountant at age 24. This feat was simultaneously achieved with his finishing a Masters degree in Accounting, specializing in Financial Management, at his alma-mata through a Federal Government scholarship.

    He was also a US Fulbright scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship at

    Boston University in Massachusetts and was alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Boston, USA amongst other reputable institutions across the world. He surprisingly retired voluntarily at age 49 to set a company more interested in mentoring the youth when he could have stayed back.

    This act of voluntary retirement showed Ambode as a man of courage and of himself not holed up by any godfather and as someone who is not afraid of the future since politics was not on the agenda at the time he did this. How can this lofty profile of Ambode be compared with that of Agbaje who was merely driven by the lucre of the governorship position? Where is Agbaje’s requisite public service experience, not his godfathers instigated board appointments adventure, to make him a veritable contestant against Ambode?

    One thing is sure and that is the fact that Lagosians are not ready to trade experience for experiment in who becomes the next governor of the state which is the nation’s centre of excellence. This was corroborated by no mean royalty than Oba Rilwan Akiolu, who several months back endorsed Ambode as competent and capable to take over from Governor Babatunde Fashola come May 29. His precise words: “Ambode remains the best man with

    the required pedigree and character to take Lagos to the next level.” What other endorsement is need that one from the father of all and not Agbaje’s divisive godfathers that had deludingly promised him what is not in their powers to give. What a fate for a politically duplicitous man

    angling at all cost for what is beyond him!

    • Adisa, public affairs analyst writes from Mushin, Lagos.
  • Agbaje: it’s constitutional

    Agbaje: it’s constitutional

    Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. Jimi Agbaje has argued that the postponement of elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fell in line with the Nigerian Constitution.

    But, he noted that the shift meant more expenses and more stress for candidates.

    According to him, the postponement would facilitate the holding of more credible and better inclusive elections by INEC, saying a slight delay in the polls should raise no eyebrows so long as the May 29 handover date remained sacrosanct.

    “It is apparent to everyone now that the postponement is within the confines of the constitution and the electoral guidelines. As long as May 29 remains sacrosanct, everything is in order. And it is obvious that May 29 remains sacrosanct,” he said.

  • Ambode, Agbaje pledge to be women-friendly

    Ambode, Agbaje pledge to be women-friendly

    he All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr.  Akinwunmi Ambode, has pledged to ensure the equal treatment of men and women in workplaces and to prioritise the enforcement of the law on domestic violence, if elected into power.

    Ambode, who spoke in Lagos yesterday at an interactive session organised by the Cosmopolitan Women’s Club with governorship candidates, noted that the role of women in developing any nation was second to none.

    He said he was raised by a woman and, as a result, understood the challenges of women in the society.

    “Our government shall pursue equal treatment for men and women in workplaces. There would be same conditions of service for men and women. Our government will prioritise and enforce laws against domestic violence and empowerment of women. We shall empower women through skill acquisition.

    “My commitment towards women in everything I do is very personal. No girl would be denied good education. You can hold me accountable for every word that I have spoken.”

    The APC candidate said women and girls face various challenges because they were often the most vulnerable group, exposed to child abuse, child trafficking and labour exploitation.

    Ambode promised to run an inclusive government to accommodate everyone, including women.

    He said his administration would institute an employment trust fund with N25 billion to cater for talented youths and women.

    Concerning complaints about multiple taxation, he said he would consolidate the taxes.

    The APC candidate said the toll gate would remain, arguing that funds derived from the tolls were useful to the government and the people because it funded basic amenities and created jobs.

    The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olujimi Agbaje, said women need to show more commitment to politics and governance.

    He said women should run for political offices, as such positions could not be given to them on a platter of gold.

    Agbaje said if elected, his administration would reserve between 20 to 25 per cent appointments at higher levels to women in the first four years.

    On whether he would have a succession plan to produce a woman-governor, the PDP candidate said at the end of their tenure, his deputy would have an edge over other aspirants and that he would  assist her.

    Agbaje said his administration would leapfrog in many areas to improve the living standard of the people, rather than make incremental increases.

    The atmosphere at the interactive session, with the theme, “What About the Women…?” was very friendly.

    Ambode and Agbaje hugged several times during the event. It was also remarkable that their wives sat side-by-side.

    Both Ambode and Agbaje pledged to harmonise taxes  to ease the burden on the people and the economy.

    On why he should be trusted, Ambode said his track record and service was impeccable.

    Agbaje said he could be trusted to deliver on his promises because his greatest strength was that he is his own person. “What you see is what you get. I am not just making empty promises,” he added.

    The candidate of the Kowa Party, Victor Adeniji, enjoined women to stand up and be counted.

    “It is your responsibility to take your place in the political space in Nigeria,” he added.

    Adeniji said his party is gender-friendly listing the party’s Board of Trustees chairman and the presidential candidate as women.

    “We try to encourage women to come out and seek elective positions, but they said politics is dirty.”

  • Fashola to Agbaje: pay your debt

    Fashola to Agbaje: pay your debt

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, to pay his outstanding debt to the state.

    The governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Hakeem Bello, said Agbaje owed N1,629,064.62 of Land Use charge.

    The debt, the governor said, is on JayKay Pharmacy on 9, Randle Close, Apapa owned by the candidate.

    Fashola said Agbaje owes the state from 2009 to 2012, even though he had paid for 2013 and 2014.

    The governor said the property is distinct from 1, Bombay Crescent, Apapa GRA over which Agbaje does not owe the state.

    The statement reads: “We consider it necessary to make a response to the rebuttal of Mr. Jimi Agbaje in some newspapers to the assertion by His Excellency, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) on the subsisting default in Land Use Charge payment of N1,629,064.62 by JayKay Pharmacy Limited on the above mentioned property.

    “For clarity, the issue at hand has to do with Mr. Agbaje’s business premises at 9, Randle Close, Apapa and not 1, Bombay Crescent, Apapa GRA, for which he was commended.

    “The letter issued by the Commissioner for Finance is in respect of 1, Bombay Crescent, Apapa GRA, which was published in Mr. Agbaje’s response and is proof of government’s acknowledgement of payments made on that property at 1, Bombay Crescent, Apapa GRA which presumably is his residence.

    “The Land Use Charge on the business premises of JK Pharmacy at 9, Randle Close, Apapa, was not paid for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

    “As Governor Fashola acknowledged, payment was made for 2013 and 2014 on 9, Randle Close, Apapa, perhaps in preparation for the election.

    “The payments for 2009 to 2012 remain outstanding and unpaid and those monies go to the Local Governments to fund primary education and primary Healthcare.

    “The amount due and unpaid is N1,629,064.62. The only way this debt owed to the people of Lagos will go away is if it is paid.”