…’Distinction’ for governor for handling COVID-19, #EndSARS protests, Lagos East byelections ‘meritoriously’
Less than three weeks to the end of the year, three events have clearly shaped the uncommon leadership quality of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State in 2020.
COVID-19
Even before the coming of the Italian that brought the pandemic to Nigeria on February 25, Sanwo-Olu was already prepared to battle it to a standstill.
When countries such as the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (UK), France and others were still indecisive, Sanwo-Olu had put machinery in motion as the ‘Incident Commander’.
Thousands of health workers, led by the Health Commissioner, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had been mobilised to prepare for the battle ahead.
The ‘pandemic war’ started on February 27 when it was officially confirmed that the Italian had, indeed, contracted the virus.
The Centre of Excellence thus became the battle ground, leading to a lockdown for months.
Sanwo-Olu mobilised corporate giants, isolation centres were set up in strategic locations, hospitals upgraded to accommodate patients and palliatives were distributed to many residents of the state.
Lagosians were also briefed daily on efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
Although it was announced on Friday that the governor “is on self isolation”, it is generally believed that the ‘Corona-Must-Go’ battle is a success story today, thanks to Sanwo-Olu’s foresight.
Prof. Abayomi, in a statement on Saturday, said: “Mr. Governor is receiving treatment and is being closely monitored at home by the very experienced State COVID-19 clinical team from IDH Yaba.
“Mr. Sanwo-Olu is doing well on treatment and rest and we are confident that he will recover quickly and clear the virus”.
#EndSARS
Following attacks by some police officers on some youths in Delta State in September, Nigerian youths declared that ‘enough is enough’.
They quickly mobilised and what started as a child’s play metamorphosed into a national crisis.
Being the economic capital of the country, Lagos became the epicentre of the crisis, with youths mobilising daily at the Lekki Toll Gate.
Many times, despite threats to his life, Sanwo-Olu visited the protesters, appealing to them that the Federal Government and his administration were ready to accede to their request.
He even went to Abuja to brief President Muhammadu Buhari on “the dangers ahead”.
Within days, the peaceful protest degenerated, with hoodlums hijacking the process.
Policemen, soldiers and innocent Nigerians were killed, police stations burnt and shops looted. Warehouses with food
were stormed by some Nigerians and looted.
The crisis reached a dangerous peak on October 20 with shootings in Lekki.
That night, the ‘people’s governor’ visited those who were injured in various hospitals in Lagos.
Many prominent Nigerians, who visited the governor, unanimously declared that Sanwo-Olu, given the way he handled the pandemic and the #EndSARS protest, should be given the ‘2020 Man of the Year’ Award.
Former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, specifically called for such an award to be given to Sanwo-Olu for showing empathy.
To get to the root of the matter, the governor set up a fact-finding panel, headed by retired Justice Doris Okuwobi.
Others governors have already emulated Sanwo-Olu in this regard.
Lagos byelections
The third factor leading to the rising profile of the governor was the December 5 Lagos East Senatorial and Kosofe Constituency House of Assembly byelections.
It was as if Lagosians were waiting to reward the governor for the ‘uncommon’ way he handled the pandemic and #EndSARS protest.
In fact, the byelections were earlier postponed because of the #EndSARS crisis, but on the D-Day, the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate, Tokunbo Abiru, got 89,204 votes while his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Babatunde Gbadamosi, scored 11,257 votes.
Also, the APC candidate for Kosofe Constituency II of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Femi Saheed, polled 12,494 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Sikiru Alebiosu of PDP who got 2,068 votes.
State APC chairman, Tunde Balogun, attributed the successes to the rising leadership quality of Sanwo-Olu.
He said: “Gbadamosi’s loss is a rejection of the PDP for supporting hoodlums in the violence at the end of #EndSARS protests. Our victory in these byelections showed the support people have for our Government in Lagos. We thank you, Governor Sanwo-Olu, for your leadership, support and dedication to the cause of the party”.
The Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the senatorial by-election, Prof. Ademola Oremosu of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), declared the result at Somolu collation centre at 7:20a.m. on Sunday.
Oremosu said that Abiru polled a total of 89, 204 votes to defeat Gbadamosi, who scored 11,257 votes.
Declaring the winner, Oremosu said: ” I, Prof. Oremosu Ademola, certify that I am the Returning Officer for the 2020 Lagos East Senatorial by-election held on the 5th day of December Year 2020. The election was contested.
“That Abiru Mukhail Adetokunbo of All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
According to him, Muyiwa Adebanjo of Action Alliance (AA) got a total of 96 votes, Mercy Adeoye of African Action Congress (AAC) scored 248 votes, while John Kome of African Democratic Congress (ADC) polled 376 votes.
He said that Adebowale Ogunlaru of Action Democratic Party (ADP) polled 535 votes, Olusola Babatope of Allied Peoples Movement (APM) scored 202 votes, Florence Trautman of Labour Party (LP) got 58 votes, while Adijat Lawal of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) polled 52 votes.
Oremosu said Akin Olukunle of National Rescue Movement (NRM) got 65 votes, Saheed Aluko of Social Democratic Party (SDP) scored 35 votes, while Taiwo Temitope of Young Progressive Party (YPP) scored 208 votes.
According to him, of the total registered voters of 1,261,673 in the district, total accredited voters were 104,894, total vote cast 104,405, total valid votes 102,336, while the rejected votes were 2,069.
Commenting, Mr Dele Oshinowo, the APC Agent for the Senatorial election, expressed gratitude to residents of the district for voting Abiru and believing in Sanwo-Olu’s leadership quality.
Also, Prof. Iyinola Oni, INEC Local Government Collation Officer for the byelection in Kosofe, declared the result at the Collation Centre in Agidi Comprehensive School, Agboyi-Ketu at 5.35a.m. on Sunday.
According to Oni of Department of Geography, University of Lagos, Saheed polled 12,494 votes to defeat Alebiosu who got 2,068 votes.
It is generally believed that APC’s victory is a reaffirmation of the expanding political support base of Sanwo-Olu which will work positively for the party in 2023.
In fact, it is a vote of confidence on the leadership style of the governor.
If anyone doubted the popularity of the governor, the victory in the election has already offered an infallible answer.
Although the turn out was low, those who came to vote ensured they gave their votes to the APC candidates for the Senate and House of Assembly seats.
APC also won because the PDP is divided.
It is an understatement to declare that there is crisis in the state PDP.
The state party chairman, Deji Doherty, is at war with the party leader and former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Bode George.
Obviously, George, the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland, controls structure of the party in the South-West state. So, PDP went into the byelections divided.
Immediately after his victory, Abiru went to Sanwo-Olu to thank the governor for his support and leadership.
He also described his victory as a proof of public trust in his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the governor.
As the governor, Sanwo-Olu is the leader of the party in the Centre of Excellence.
Abiru, a former Managing Director of Polaris Bank, said the outcome was a reaffirmation of the expanding political support base of the party not just in Lagos East, but across the state.
“This is, perhaps, the smoothest victory our party has secured in its recent history; we polled 89,204 votes, while our closest rival scored 11,257 votes.
“This outcome, no doubt, is a reaffirmation of our expanding political support base, not just in Lagos East but also in Lagos State at large.
“It is, without doubt, a proof of the degree of public trust we have earned in our party’s two decades or more in governance in Lagos State,’’ he said.
Abiru said the overwhelming victory was the answer the people of the senatorial district just delivered in the election.
“It is the answer that resonates in their popular decision to give us their mandate.
“It is the answer that our unrepentant critics cannot contest, even in their wildest dreams, given the credibility of the process that gave us the mandate.
“This answer did not come by accident or chance; it came by dint of hard work our party and campaign council invested in the electioneering.
“It also came through the selfless service of all members of our Campaign Council and Local Organising Committees (LOC) that canvassed support for our party even during sometimes difficult circumstances,” he said.
He commended the National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, Balogun and members of the party’s Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) for the structures that earned the victory.
While also thanking the people of Lagos East for voting him and APC, he said he would not take their support for granted.
He said it was time to begin to implement all his electoral promises to all the people of the senatorial district, regardless of the decisions they made in the byelection.
“The election has been held and we have won with a landslide. Now that we have secured this senatorial mandate, we cannot afford to fail our people.
“We cannot afford to fail those who voted for us and those who did not vote for us for whatever reasons and those who did not vote at all.
“We cannot afford to betray the invaluable trust our people reposed in us as a political party and as their representatives in government.
“Now is the time to translate all the promises into positive and tangible outcomes our people are expecting us to bring about.
“Now is the time to take our people from the realm of expectations to the limelight of fulfilment,” he said.
“Within the limits of our statutory mandate, this is the time to make the aged smile; empower our jobless youths, minister to the vulnerable, secure the future or brilliant indigent children and support the implementation of the ideals of the party.
“To achieve these enviable goals, we are already in the process of establishing an Endowment and Empowerment Fund to actualise my private philanthropy.
“The fund will implement different interventions we are coming up with in line with my agenda and ideals of the party.
“Already, our team is perfecting the modalities for the implementation of these intervention programmes.
“By the middle of January, we will unveil these programmes in full and begin implementation immediately,” he said.
Twelve candidates contested in the election necessitated by the demise of the former occupant, Senator Bayo Osinowo.
The APC defeated PDP in all the five local government areas in Lagos East senatorial district.
In Somolu, APC polled a total of 17, 728 votes to defeat PDP which polled 2067 vote while in Epe, APC scored 22, 213 votes to defeat PDP with polled 1826 votes.
In Ibeju-Lekki, APC polled a total of 16, 336 to defeat PDP candidate which scored 937 votes, while in Ikorodu, the APC polled 19, 204 votes to defeat PDP which scored 3766 votes.
In Kosofe, the APC polled a total of 13, 723 to defeat PDP which scored 2661 while 10 other political parties that participated in the elections got less than 200 votes in each of the LGAs.
Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, also attested to the governor’s leadership quality, leading to the victory.
To him, it is an indication of more successes.
“It is proof that the party has many more victories ahead, a test of our party’s strength ahead of future elections. The victory has proven that the party in Lagos remains strong, united and has members and chieftains who continuously key into its goals and manifesto”.
He commended Tinubu, the governor and GAC members for making the right choices at all times.
“The victory is a vote of confidence on APC in Lagos. It shows there is something we are doing that we must not only sustain but continue to build on.
“The APC in Lagos has always been a united body geared towards the attainment of a general goal – making life better for residents of the state and this we have done over the years.
“The people of Lagos State appreciate us as a party and this is evident in the landslide victory of the two candidates in the election,” Obasa said.
Sanwo-Olu, who hosted Abiru, Saheed and others at the Government House, declared that the party would record more successes in the build up to 2023.
Balogun formally presented the duo to the Governor.
The candidates were accompanied by chairman of Tokunbo Abiru Campaign Council, Ashipa Kaoli Olusanya, party leader, Chief Bode Oyedele, women leader, Hon. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, and other party stalwarts from the district.
Also, there were members of the House of Representatives from Lagos East district, including Jimi Benson and Rotimi Agunsoye.
Sanwo-Olu described APC’s triumph in the byelections as “two-fold success”, saying the results indicated the party remained the first choice for Lagosians.
He said Lagos residents would always reckon with APC, given the party’s progressive credential and responsible leadership.
Sanwo-Olu said the outcome of the elections should be seen as a result of the huge popularity, which Tinubu enjoys in Lagos, as well as a demonstration of faith and loyalty to Tinubu’s progressive ideas, which had transformed Lagos in physical development and economy.
He said: “For us a party, we always see our success at the polls as acceptance of our progressive governance. With almost 90 per cent margin in the Senatorial byelection, it goes to show that APC remains the party of first choice in Lagos State. I thank our leaders and party members for supporting Abiru on this journey and delivering the victory. I particularly congratulate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his vision, his ability to diagnose challenges and pick talented individuals that will efficiently tackle the challenges.
“The victory of our party in both elections is for the people. This is a big deal for all Lagosians because Abiru won’t be a senator for the APC members alone; he is going to do the representational duty for all his Lagos East constituents and by extension, all Lagosians. The same goes for Hon. Femi Saheed. This success goes to show there’s something our party is doing well and for which it is being rewarded by the people. We won’t take this for granted. We will show more commitment to programmes that will make Lagos greater”.
The governor urged the elected lawmakers to see their victory as a call to serve the people and be good ambassadors of the party in the legislative chambers.
Sanwo-Olu hailed all APC members for working together to deliver the victory for the party.
The governor said APC’s victory with wide margin in the byelections was a sound testament to the confidence the people of Lagos State had in the party.
He commended the electorate for coming out to perform their civic responsibilities and for voting in large numbers for the two candidates put forward by the APC.
“Your emergence as federal and state lawmakers is a validation of peoples’ confidence in our dear party, the APC.
“The victory of the two candidates of our party in the byelections clearly showed that APC remains a party to beat in Lagos, based on her achievements since the beginning of the current political dispensation in 1999.
“The successive administrations in Lagos have put the people at the centre of its action, resulting in several people-oriented programmes. This has continued to manifest in the voting patterns in the state,´´ he said.
