Lagosians will head to polling units on March 9, 2019 to choose a new Governor who will take over from Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode whose four-year tenure expires on May 29, 2019.
Here are the profiles of the two major contenders in the race:
Jimi Agbaje
Jimi Agbaje is running for Governor of Lagos for a third time (Guardian)
A pharmacist and politician, 62-year-old Jimi Agbaje will be running for the office of Lagos Governor for the third time, on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Agbaje contested for the office of Governor of Lagos on the platform of the Democratic People’s Alliance (DPA) in 2007 and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
Before running for the office of Governor in 2007, Agbaje was a member of the defunct Action Congress (AC). He abandoned the party alongside 11 others when it dawned on him that godfather Bola Tinubu had already anointed Babatunde Raji Fashola the AC governorship flag-bearer for Lagos.
A smooth talker, Agbaje has hinged his 2019 governorship campaign on freeing Lagos from what he regards as the stranglehold of godfather Tinubu and the APC.
“So, we’re talking about freedom in the sense that we want to be able to have access to how exactly they are running our government. We talk about freedom where, in the last 20 years, Lagos has spent some N7tn and we’re asking, ‘What have we got for N7tn? Have we got value for money?’
“Now, there is a private company that takes a percentage of that N7tn, and we’re asking, ‘For what purpose?’ There is a private company fund collector, Alphabeta or whatever, that collects – we don’t even know what the percentage is. It could be 10 or 12 (per cent), eight or six (per cent)”, Agbaje says.
Agbaje has also promised to evacuate ubiquitous articulated trucks that have been parked on busy roads and bridges for over three years.
