Five House of Representatives candidates for Eti Osa Federal Constituency, Lagos State, gathered at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, on Monday, February 4, 2019 to debate and show their constituents who best deserves to represent them at the 9th Assembly.
The candidates were Olubankole Wellington of the Modern Democratic Party (MDP), Ibrahim Obanikoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Omotesho Bakare of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tessy Owolabi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Ferdinand Adimefe of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN).
The debate, anchored by broadcast journalist, Kunle Falayi, and organised by MediaHub in conjunction with Pulse Nigeria and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Pidgin News Service, gave the candidates a platform to share their ideas with voters.
The debate kicked off with opening statements as Adimefe lamented about how Nigeria is mired deep in a crisis. The 34-year-old policy designer affirmed that it’s a moral responsibility for someone like him to get involved and serve the people more faithfully than what they’re currently getting.
Obanikoro declared that he’s the most experienced candidate for the seat and assured that he’s quite ready to fix problems about health, education, power and the environment, while Bakare said he’s the closest to the grassroots and most qualified to provide genuine representation.
Babajide Obanikoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a debate for candidates contesting for the Eti-Osa constituency seat in the House of Representatives
Owolabi, who also noted that Lagos is in decline, said her passion for giving the next generation a proper future makes her the most suitable for the legislative seat.
On his own part, Wellington, an entertainer known more popularly by his stage name, Banky W, said his legacy as an advocate for youth participation in politics and philanthropy in education and health have prepared him for a role as pivotal as that of a legislative representative.
“I believe my life’s work will show that I have the intellectual capacity of a lawmaker, the heart of a philanthropist, the mouth of an activist and the media attention that comes with being an entertainer, and by the grace of God, I can combine all of these to be our best representative ever,” he assured to applause from the audience.
Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) of the Modern Democratic Party (MDP) at a debate for candidates contesting for the Eti-Osa constituency seat in the House of Representatives
With the influence of godfathers increasingly under the spotlight for being an undemocratic phenomenon plaguing Nigerian politics, it came as little surprise that most of the candidates distanced themselves from having one.
However, Obanikoro, who’s the son of Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Minister of State for Defence, said godfathers have an important role to play in the grand scheme of things and cannot be done away with.
“Whether you like it or not, what they have seen, the experience they have, no matter where you’re coming from, you can never buy it or have it.
“You need them to move forward, it’s a synergy, that’s where your ability to negotiate comes in. That you don’t need godfatherism, that’s a total lie,” he said.
On the contrary, Adimefe assured the audience that the only godfather he has is the “Nigerian constitution and the Nigerian people”, noting that he owes nobody else.
“We don’t need godfathers, we need mentors; people that can carry us on their shoulders. I don’t want a godfather that’ll make me a stool and climb on my head and truncate my ideas. I want a godfather that can become a catalyst for change and that’s the Nigerian people,” he said to a very rapturous audience.
Ferdinand Adimefe of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) at a debate for candidates contesting for the Eti-Osa constituency seat in the House of Representatives
Owolabi and Obanikoro considered flooding to be one of the most pressing problems facing the constituency and proposed to lobby for a special status for Lagos State in the National Assembly to fix drainage issues and prevent recurrence of what has become an annual disaster.
On his part, Wellington said accountability is one of the biggest problems in governance in Nigeria and promised to lead from the front to change the situation.
“Most of us don’t know who our representatives are, talk less of their salary and allowances and constituency allocations that they receive every year most of the time to enrich themselves,” he lamented.
He vowed to publish his salary and allowances as a legislator and be transparent in the spending of constituency allocations by consulting regularly with the people.
Adimefe said empowering people is the
