The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Lagos State, Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran “Jandor” sits with Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude on a Lagos Election Special, Ekol’on pebi, featuring the leading candidates in the Lagos Governorship Election, asides the incumbent Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was unavoidably unavailable for the interview. On the interview, Jandor discusses his choice to run for office and his plans for Lagos State.
On his background before running for governorship under the PDP in Lagos State, he shared, “I was in the APC and I have never been elected or appointed. I was a consultant in that corridor, you can liken my case to that of the son of the house who went to his father’s house to do menial jobs. I was using that opportunity to collect data, understudy the situation and all of that. So, I have been qualified to run for office as far back as 2007, I just refused to join the process because I wasn’t done understudying the process in that place. When I was done, I had to come out, and I know that for us to right the wrong in Lagos, we have to grab executive power. Because since 1999, we have only had one governor, and every other governor has only been a tenant in that office. It is about time we have an independent governor in the state of Lagos. So, when I was ready to throw my hat into the ring, I knew that there was nothing I would do to get a ticket in that party because it is an unpardonable sin for you to have aspirations in that house, especially when it comes to being governor. Immediately you come out and say you can, the owner of the party marks you down and would rather go for somebody who never envisions governing, so that when the person gets there, he will be at his mercy. For me, I don’t want to be that governor that will require second-level approval to get things done, because the ones you are having can’t do anything on their own. Ambode, Sanwo-Olu, and even Fashola. These are good men, but being a good man is not enough. We need an independent governor, the one who can think for himself and make good his promises to the people.
“When people come to tell me, Agbero is terrorizing us in Lagos, I say ‘No’, it is not Agbero that is terrorizing us, it is our government that is terrorizing us because if they want Agberos to stop in Lagos today, it will stop. It is their own policy that is bringing Agberos out and making Lagos unrest for people. They have intimidated people from joining the process and they take over all the polling units. If you win at the polling unit, they change it at the collation centre, but with the BVAS and the electronic transmission, you will see the beating that APC will take in this election” he also shared.
Jandor speaks about his plans for the education sector in Lagos State, “as we speak, we have over 2 million out-of-school children. What I would do first is to declare a state of emergency in that sector of the economy. I need to take my children off the street. I know that I can’t build the entire school that will accommodate them in one day, so I am going into partnership with all the private schools in Lagos, (we have 5,000 registered private school in Lagos), and spreading the students across all the private schools, give them uniforms and learning aids in return for tax incentives while I focus on the infrastructural renewal that will accommodate them. For the ones in public school, we have a policy to give them new school uniforms, because I experienced it while growing up, I will wear my turn uniform to class, and my teacher will send me out and I will be counted as an out-of-school child.”
On the choice of his deputy governorship candidate, he said, ‘Funke is super qualified to be in that office. She is better off than anything that they have brought forward in the name of deputy of governor in this state. Funke has been an employer of labor for about 20 years. She has contributed a lot into this economy. The current governor and his deputy have never employed 3-man staff before. Funke has had cause to source for funds, and turn it around in this economy. In her chosen career, she has been able to stand out.
Watch the excerpts from the interview here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpb8ZbfDt35/?hl=en
