Buhari: I will pick Muslim as running mate if...

One of the strong APC presidential aspirants,General Muhammadu Buhari expressed possibility of picking a Muslim running mate if his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) concurs.

Speaking on a Channels Television interview on Sunday night, Buhari, one of the notable aspirants for the presidential ticket on the platform of APC, mentioned that the country had produced same religion leaders in the past.

He recalled that former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon and his service chiefs were Christians and the late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe ticket in 1993 and even his team with Idiagbon, he said nobody complained.

“Gowon filled his government with Christians, Buhari/Idiagbon were Muslims, Nigerians voted Muslims with Abiola, maybe time has changed now,” he stressed.

On the forthcoming presidential primary election of APC, Buhari said “if the processes are done freely and fairly, I will accept the result if I don’t win.”

He further described the Federal Government’s fight against terror as “unsatisfactory,” he added that the insecurity gripping the nation was intolerable.

According to reports, not fewer that 8000 delegates from the four walls of the country will gather at the Teslim Balogun stadium, Surulere, on Wednesday, 10th of Dec., to pick the Presidential candidate of the party.

Ambode release his resume amidst allegation of perjury

After allegation perjury charged against the Lagos APC gubernatorial candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode, has unveiled his resume for public criticisms.

Ambode who was accused of lying on oath, claimed on his JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Board) examination form of 1981 that he is from Ilaje, Ondo and during the governorship primary election, in his APC nomination form, he claimed that he is from Epe, Lagos.

Read the Resume below:

• I was born on the 14th of June,1963 at Epe General Hospital, Epe, Lagos State.

• I had my Primary School at St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebute Meta, and Lagos. Passed the National Common Entrance in Primary 5 and gained admission into Federal Government College, Warri.

• Recorded the second best result in the entire West Africa in the Higher School Certificate Examinations in the Social Sciences in 1981.

• Graduated with honours in Accounting from the University of Lagos at 21.

• I started my public service career at Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (now LAWMA) as Accountant Grade II in November 1985.

• At 24, I qualified as a Chartered Accountant and completed my Masters Degree programme in Accounting from University of Lagos, specializing in Financial Management.

• Worked in the Local Government Service for 10 years and was at various times council Treasurer in Alimosho, Shomolu, Mushin and Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Councils.

• In 1998, my commitment to public service earned me the award of the US Fullbright Scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program, in Boston University, Massachusetts, USA on Public Leadership with emphasis on Finance and Accounting.

• I was appointed acting Auditor-General for Local Government in 2000 and became the youngest ever Auditor-General for Local Government in Lagos State.

• I was appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance in January 2005 and in February, 2006, was given the additional responsibility of Accountant-General of Lagos State.

• I was the youngest Permanent Secretary in service and only the second person to hold both positions of Permanent Secretary and Accountant-General at the same time.

• Under my watch, the State Treasury Office revolutionized the way Lagos State finances were raised, budgeted, managed and planned resulting in the state’s budget performing at an average of 85% annually.

• I ensured payment of civil service staff salaries before the end of the month, payment of running cost by 1st week of each month and introduced end of the year package and special/specific welfare for staff.

• I launched the e-payment platform for the monthly staff salaries

• I renovated the State Treasury Office, created a conducive working environment, introduced a corporate dress code and provided laptops for all Directors

• I Introduced prompt payment of gratuity and pension arrears of the

State Universal Basic Education Board and Local Government old pensioners.

• I introduced regular technical meetings with the Directors of Accounts in all MDAs, facilitated the sponsorship, by the State Governor, of over 1000 accountants to the Annual accountants'

Conference in Abuja and initiated the annual retreat for Heads of Accountants as well as Local and International training for staff.

• I co-organised the first ever National Tax Retreat in association with the Joint Tax Board/Federal Inland Revenue Service in 2005.

• I chaired the Technical Committee that produced the Lagos State Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (SEEDS) document.

• I led the audit teams as the Auditor-General in the office of Auditor-General for Local Government to clear and publish the arrears of statutory audits of 1995 to 2004 within 12 months.

• I am a scholar, accountant, administrator, an astute leader with strong emotional intelligence, i am an alumnus of Wharton Business School and also attended courses at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield, England; the Institute of Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland; INSEAD, Singapore and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

• I retired voluntarily from public service in August, 2012; the first ever recorded voluntary retirement by a Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Public Service.

• I established Brandsmiths Consulting Limited in 2012 and the company is today consulting for Federal, State and Local Governments on the transition to the new International Public Service

Accounting System and other financial advisory services.

• I am a stickler for high performance and my decisions are never based on race, gender or religion.

Kate Henshaw refute stories of missing nephew

Nollywood actress, Kate Henshaw rebut reports of missing nephews  through a broadcast on her social media page.  - Twitter.

The reports which had gone viral, that the Nollywood actress nephews were missing was regarded by the actress as wrong reports. The actress posted via her twitter account (@HenshawKate) that she was assisting the missing child of a friend.

The post: “2 and half year old Rafael and 15 months old Michael were abducted from their home in Isheri Magodo Estate, Lagos last night by their maid. The children’s parents left the kids in the care of the maid, their sick grand mum and her nurse and went out briefly yesterday. By the time they returned home, the maid and the kids were nowhere to be found. The maid took them away after the grandma and her nurse had gone to bed.

”All efforts to reach the maid by phone has proved abortive. And the agency that brought the maid also can’t reach her. Please anyone with any information that could help with finding these children, please contact Darlington on 08037071370 or the nearest police station”.

Obasanjo's book now on sale, declares Jonathan as incompetent

An attempt by Buruji Kashamu, a close associate of President Goodluck Jonathan, to stop the publication of a three-volume book by former President Obasanjo, appears to have failed as SaharaReporters can confirm that the book has gone into circulation. A source close to Mr. Obasanjo confirmed to SaharaReporters late last night that copies of the former president’s exhaustive autobiography were already available to buyers in print form. The source that the book would soon be available in an electronic version that is beyond the jurisdiction of Nigerian courts.

SaharaReporters has already obtained and read sections of the book scheduled for formal launch in Nigeria in a few days.

The book, whose three volumes chronicle the life of the controversial former president from birth till this year, aroused political interest after SaharaReporters exclusively reported that Mr. Obasanjo devotes significant pages to paint an unflattering portrait of President Jonathan. We reported that the book characterizes Mr. Jonathan as selfish, weak-willed, callous and incapable of rising to the challenges of running a complex country like Nigeria. Mr. Obasanjo also accuses the president of surrounding himself with aides and political associates with corrupt tendencies.

Mr. Obasanjo’s book dedicates several parts in the book to point out some of Mr. Jonathan’s actions and inactions he considers ill-advised or disastrous for Nigeria. He depicts Mr. Jonathan as a man who has not only destroyed the Peoples Democratic Party but also led Nigeria in dire straights.

The book focuses on several instances of policy somersaults by Mr. Jonathan as well as deliberate actions by the incumbent president that have imperiled Nigeria’s progress in the opinion of Mr. Jonathan.

An Abuja-based lawyer and critic of Mr. Obasanjo accused the former president of seeking to use the book to earn cheap popularity, adding that Mr. Obasanjo cannot get away from responsibility for “sponsoring President Jonathan’s rise to political prominence and the Presidency.”

“We have been saying it from day one that President Goodluck Jonathan does not have the qualities to become a true leader, but we cannot forget that Chief Obasanjo singlehandedly put him and the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in office,” the lawyer said.

Mr. Obasanjo’s book also castigates former President Umaru Yar’Adua, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, and former Governor James Ibori of Delta State, Bukola Saraki, among other political foes.

In the book, the former president also makes an incredible claim that he was never interested in pursuing a third term while in office.

Source: SaharaReporters

Boko Haram cameramen captured by Nigeria troops

According to recent reports, Four Boko Haram camera operators were captured by Nigerian troops in Adamawa.

One of the recent apprehension include the arrest of professional cameramen of the terrorist group who are experts in photo, video recording and filming of their attacks on communities and wrongdoings  against innocent civilians. 

These Boko Haram members were caught during patrols, surveillance and raid operations to track fleeing terrorists in communities around Adamawa State.

Major General Chris Olukolade, the Director Defense Information, confirmed the incident, said four of those nabbed as they tried to escape in an SUV jeep with digital camera and weapons were taken into custody.

Nigerian troops have been sustaining the rebelous acts of the terrorists in North-eastern Nigeri, more rebels were caught recently.

He added that they are helping in ongoing investigation in one of the barracks. 

APC Presidential aspirants short profile

The All Progressives Congress, APC recently, released short professional profile of it's five presidential aspirants; The former head of state, General Mohammadu Buhari; former Vice President of the country, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Kano State; Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Publisher of Leadership Newspaper Group, Sam Nda-Isaiah. 

Atiku Abubakar

Businessman, administrator and former Vice President , Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was born on the 25th of November 1946 in Jada village, Adamawa State. He was admitted to Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in Yola in 1960. He graduated from secondary school in 1965. He worked briefly as a Tax Officer in the regional Ministry of Finance, from where he gained admission to the School of Hygiene in Kano in 1966.
He graduated with a Diploma in 1967. In 1967, he enrolled for a Law Diploma at the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration, on a scholarship from the regional government. After graduation in 1969, he was employed by the Nigerian Customs Service.

His assignments at the Customs included Idi-Iroko, Apapa Ports (1974), Ibadan Customs Command (1975), Kano Command (1976), Maiduguri (Area Comptroller, 1977), Kaduna (1980) the Apapa Ports in 1982 and Murtala Muhammed International Airport He won the Adamawa State governorship elections in December 1998, but before the inauguration date, he was named the vice-presidential candidate to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He served as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007.
Alhaji Abubakar contested the 2007 presidential election on the platform of the then Action Congress.
He is married with children.

Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
Alhaji Mohammed Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, politician, administrator and currently governor of Kano State was born in Kwankwaso village in Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State in 1956. He attended Kwankwaso Primary School, Gwarzo; Wudil Craft School and Kano Technical College before proceeding to Kaduna Polytechnic for his tertiary education. He also did his post-graduate studies in the United Kingdom. 
He started work in 1975 with WRECA. He joined partisan politics in the aborted Third Republic where he contested elections to the House of Representatives. He became the Deputy Speaker. 

Kwankwaso was elected Governor of Kano State in 1999 and led the state between 1999 and 2003 with a massive focus on educational development of the state.He lost his re-election bid in 2003. He was however re-elected as Kano state governor on 27 April 2011 and sworn in on 29 May 2011 for a second term in office.
Prior to his second coming as Governor of kano state, Alhaji Kwankwaso served as Minister of Defence in President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet in 2003. In 2007, he was appointed as the Presidential Special Envoy to Somalia and Darfur by the federal government.

He is married with children.

Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari
Former head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was born December 17, 1942 in Daura, Katsina State. He joined the Nigerian Army in 1962. Buhari first came to widespread public attention in 1976 when he became the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources. He had earlier served as Governor of the then North-Eastern State.

Buhari served as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), a body created by the government of General Abacha, and funded from the revenue generated by the increase in price of petroleum products, to pursue developmental projects around the country. 

He contested the presidential election in 2003 and 2007 (under the platform of the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP). He also contested the 2011 presidential election under the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). 

Gen Buhari is well regarded as a highly disciplined leader and statesman who abhors corruption. His politics is defined by integrity.

He is married with children.

Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha 
Businessman, administrator and philanthropist, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, currently the Governor of Imo State was born on September 22, 1962, in Ogboko, Ideato South, Imo State. He attended Juladaco High School, Jos (1976-1981). He studied at the University of Jos (1990-1991), obtaining a diploma in Public Administration. He returned to the University of Jos (1993-1994) to obtain an Advanced Diploma in Public Administration. 

He has held position as President, Nigeria Red Cross Society, President/Founder, Rochas Foundation Inc, President, Rochas Group of Companies Limited, Pro Chancellor, African Business School among others.
Okorocha left the PDP for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on whose platform he contested the 2011 governorship election. He defeated the then incumbent Governor Ikedia Ohakim to emerge winner.
His pragmatic leadership style and huge investment in infrastructure and education has endeared his administration to the people of Imo State.

In 2013, his colleague governors in the APC elected him as the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum.

He is married with children.

Sam Nda-Isaiah
Pharmacist, Newspaper Publisher and entrepreneur, Sam Nda-Isaiah was born in Minna, Niger State, on May 1, 1962. He attended Christ Church School, Katsina Road, Kaduna, between 1968 and 1974; Government College, Kaduna, 1974–1979; and the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, 1979-1983, where he studied Pharmacy. On graduation, Sam worked at the Minna General Hospital, after a stint at the Kano Specialist Hospital. He did his NYSC at the General Hospital, Ilawe Ekiti, and the State Hospital, Ikere Ekiti, both in Ekiti State, in 1984. In 1985, he joined Pfizer Products Limited where he worked until 1989. He resigned and launched into serial entrepreneurship.

Sam’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to establish the LEADERSHIP Group in 2003 with less than N1million. He is highly respected for his Monday column in the LEADERSHIP Newspaper, through which he has established himself as a pro-good governance exponent.

Sam is an alumnus of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore and also of the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University, New York.

The proprietor of LEADERSHIP Newspapers is a member of the Institute of Directors, member of the Vienna-based International Press Institute; World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and an executive member of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN). He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Edusoko University, Bida, and of the newly reconstituted Heritage University in Kaduna.
Sam is married to Zainab and they are blessed with four children.

Credit: Nigeria Bulletin

Jonathan Lambast Kwankwaso says "His Understanding his below average"

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday lambasted the Kano State Governor, Musa Kwankwaso, saying he is a political “gambler” who is hallucinating about becoming Nigeria’s president.

Mr. Jonathan, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ruben Abati, was responding to criticisms by Mr. Kwankwaso that the president lacked the capacity to serve as commander in-chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces.

The governor, who is a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, had during his campaign fund launch in Abuja on Saturday made scathing remarks about the Presidency.

He urged APC faithful and Nigerians to vote for the right person to replace Mr. Jonathan, who he accused of failing to secure the lives and property of the citizenry.

But responding, Mr. Jonathan said the Kano State governor is an incompetent and clueless presidential aspirant.

“The point must be made very clearly that the kind of comment Governor Kwankwaso made at an occasion where he was doing a fund raiser for his gamble to become the presidential candidate of the APC shows that he is a very incompetent and a clues presidential aspirant,” said Mr. Abati.

“One would have expected that at an occasion where he was raising funds to promote his gamble to become the presidential flag bearer of the APC, he would project himself as a man who has a vision and an agenda for moving Nigeria forward.

“Instead, what he has done at every turn in this his new found gamble and hallucinatory ambition to become the president of Nigeria is to rundown President Jonathan at every opportunity.”

The president noted that Mr. Kwankwaso is one aspirant who believes that by pulling him down, the governor can rise.

Mr. Jonathan drew attention to how Mr. Kwankwaso poured invectives on the presidency when he declared for the presidential ticket of the APC and again at the campaign fund raising, saying the actions were unfortunate.

The president continued, “I think it is a tragicomedy because at every point he goes into this his gamble to become a presidential candidate of the APC, the only thing he does is complain about President Jonathan, instead of using the opportunity to talk about what he wants to do for Nigerians.

“It is obvious that he is clueless and an incompetent presidential aspirant and is not in a position to talk about incompetence. He is even the one that is incompetent and that is masked gross paranoia. He is complaining that President Jonathan is not doing enough to check insurgency and we are inviting countries that we have helped before to come and help us.”

Mr. Abati explained that the Federal Government did not reach out to its neighbours in the fight against insurgency out of desperation.

Rather, as a global threat, he said the only way to tackle terrorism is for countries to work together and exchange intelligence.

He, therefore, described Mr. Kwankwaso’s diatribe as counterproductive and unreasonable, saying any aspirant playing politics with insurgency lacked the basic understanding of the complexity of the problem.

“Any intelligent aspirant will see very clearly that insurgency affects all of us and what is required is for all Nigerians to walk together. Governor Kwankwaso wants to be the president of Nigeria in his dreams,” Mr. Jonathan said.

“He doesn’t understand the nature of our security challenge and I think it is most unfortunate that a person of such low level of understanding can seek the office of the president.”

On the claim that some top PDP members will soon defect to the APC, Mr. Jonathan said the Kano State governor is trapped in a drivel and should not be taken seriously.

While confirming his status as the sole presidential candidate of the PDP, having been endorsed by party members at all levels, Mr. Jonathan expressed confidence that he will emerge not only at the party’s convention, but also during the 2015 polls.

At the time he would again emerge as president, Mr. Abati noted that the garrulous APC aspirant will be nowhere to be found given the way he has so confidently and arrogantly advertised his ignorance.

“His ambition at every point ends up as a tragicomedy and the clearest illustration of the tragicomic nature is to gamble in lies. Mr. Kwankwaso doesn’t even understand what insurgency is all about or what terrorism is all about.

“He makes it seems as if the terrorism in Nigeria is a fault of Mr. Jonathan and everything must be heaped on his head,” the president said.

Credit: Premium Times

Kokomaster Begun Sale Of Koko Garri

After making the announcement on march this year that he will be introducing the Koko Garri to the market, Kokomaster D’banj has officially begun sale of his Koko Garri.

The product has now gone on sale via online shopping website,Konga and a bag of the product which weighs 18kg, goes for N5,000. Here is what is written on the site about the product;Kokogarri is made from fresh cassava tubers, very fine grain. Ideal for drinking or less making eba, (solid food). A carton has 18 packs of the 1kg pack of garri.

Source: Spyghana

Jonathan: Economy Will Be Stable Amidst Fall In Oil Price

President Goodluck Jonathan has assured Nigerians and foreign investors that the Nigerian economy will remain stable despite the depreciation in global oil prices.

The President assured Nigerians on Thursaday at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, in a meeting with the delegates of multinational industrial giant, Genaral Electric (GE), led by its Vice Chairman and CEO, Mr John Rice.

In reference to a statement issued by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Reuben Abati, Jonathan said FG would do everything possible to maintain domestic economic stability, and urged the company to maintain its confidence in Nigeria.

“We promise our people that even with the drop in oil prices, the economy will be stable.

“I urge you to maintain the confidence you have in this country before the oil price drop, and even expect better management from us.

“Sometimes, it is when you are challenged that you do better than when everything looks good.

“So, I assure you, other investors in this country and all Nigerians that the government will do everything necessary to stabilise the economy and that the  drop in the price of crude oil will not create so much distortion in our economy,” he said.

According to Reuben Abati, spokeman for the President, said that the President thanked GE commitment to upsurge its investment within the country, consequently, prooviding more jobs for Nigerians.

The President further welcomed GE's plans to establish a facility in Calabar to manufacture componenets for the oil and gas sectors.

Mark Urge Nigerians To Seek Spiritual Intervention Against Insurgents

Senate President, David Mark, on Wednesday urged Nigerians to turn to God as the only way out of the protracted battle against insurgency as well as other political and economic problems confronting the nation.

Mark said he was optimistic that God would heal the land “only if we turn to Him to salvage the myriads of crisis  facing the nation.”

 

According to a statement by his media aide, Paul Mumeh, Mark said: “What the country is passing through at the moment is a test of our faith. We must be steadfast in our prayers  that God will save Nigeria.

“What we need now as a nation is sincerity of purpose. Sincerity on the part of everybody, the government and the people. With prayers, our country will see the end of this insurgency and God will totally heal our land,” he added.

He called for free, fair and credible elections in 2015, advising Nigerians to continue to do the right thing both in the presence of God and in the sight of men.

The senate president charged youths across the country to embrace prayer network as the tools for positive change in the efforts to build a greater Nigeria.

The statement also quoted one Rev. Father Charles Ndubuisi, at a meeting with Mark, saying youths across the nation have come together to raise their voices to God in the midst of lingering crisis and also to seek change of attitude among the younger generation.

The cleric said his prayer group came together with the mission to pray to God to end the issues of insecurity, corruption and unemployment in the country, adding: “We have come together to raise our voices to God. The future belongs to young people and as youths by implication, we are praying for ourselves too.”

Credit: thisdaylive.com

Tinubu's Choice: Ambode Wins APC Gubernatorial Ticket

According to reports, Ambode has emerge as APC gubernatorial candidate, in the primary election conducted on Thursday, 4th of December.

The 51-year-old Ambode defeated other notable aspirants in the party, the election had about 3000 delegates in attendance.

The public finance management expert, outshines 11 aspirannts, like Femi Hamzat, who is the Commissioner for Works, Ganiyu Solomon, the Senate Minority Whip, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and former Commissioner for Health, Leke Pitan.

Prominent aspirants who lost out includes,  former Attorney-General of the state, Olasupo Shasore, who had the backing of Governor Fashola, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Adetokunbo Wahab, Tayo Ayinde and former Commissioner for Special Duties, Tola Kasali.

Notably, Ambode, who was said to be the choice of the Party Chairman, Bola Tinubu, emerge as the gubernatorial candidate of the party outshining Olasupo Shashore, who was preferred by current governor, Babatunde Fashola.

Fashola: Unveiled his successor

Many Lagosians have been asking the question: who did Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF) groom to succeed him as governor of Lagos state? According to TheCable, the successor is Olasupo Shasore, former commissioner for justice and attorney-general of the state. The question of Fashola’s succession plan has been on the lips of many Nigerians who fear that his legacy could fall apart when he leaves office next year. Little was known about his mentorship of Shasore who, according to Alausa insiders, was a very important figure in the Fashola government from 2007 to 2011.

But the 2015 political calculations have placed Fashola’s long-term plan in the balance, with the national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, preferring Akinwunmi Ambode as his man for governorship. Ambode, who has already declared his interest in the race, was accountant-general of Lagos and permanent secretary in the ministry of finance when Tinubu was governor. While Tinubu unexpectedly picked Fashola as his successor in 2007, the consolation then was that Fashola was Tinubu’s chief of staff and had been secretly groomed for governorship. However, Ambode has never been part of Fashola’s government and there are fears he could be starting from the scratch if he becomes governor.

Shasore, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) like Fashola, was one of the only two commissioners personally picked by the governor in his first cabinet in 2007. After playing a key role in the government, especially in legal reforms, Shasore left the cabinet in 2011 in a strategic move by Fashola to get him ready for the job in 2015, sources in the know told TheCable. In the meantime, Shasore has been saddled with the responsibility of delivering home ownership to Lagosians as chairman of the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS) committee as part of Fashola’s plan to get the Lagos Island-born lawyer to familiarise himself with the key constituencies in the state. He also promoted Shasore into national politics, nominating him to the National Conference which was held in Abuja this year.
 
Fashola also prepared a Plan B: Femi Hamzat, his commissioner of works and infrastructure. Hamzat has been a member of the cabinet since 2005, first serving as commissioner for science and technology before moving to works in 2011. Having been a key member of Fashola’s cabinet, Hamzat has also understudied the governor for the past four years and was said to be preparing to run, but two obstacles stood his way. With Lagosians clamouring for an indigene and the Christian community agitating for one of their own, Hamzat’s ambition has been tempered by political realities. His father, Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat, was recently made Olu of Afowowa, Ogun state, inevitably revealing his roots and exposing him to a potentially politically damaging campaign that could give the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) an advantage in the governorship race. Ironically, though, Oba Hamzat played politics in Lagos all his life, serving as a member of the state house of assembly and commissioner for transport in the 1970s and 1980s.

Shasore is from Lagos Island, but Ambode has had to battle allegations that he is lying about his Ilaje roots in Ondo state. The attempt to balance religion may also work against Hamzat, following agitations that a Christian should be governor for the first since the fourth republic birthed in 1999. Shasore and Ambode are Christians, and the PDP is waiting in the wings to field a Christian ─ with Jimi Agbaje’s name ranking high on the list ─ in the event that religion becomes a major issue as the primaries draw close. Fashola, it would appear, may defer to Tinubu’s choice of Ambode, who against expectations made him the governorship candidate of the Action Congress (now APC) in 2007.

Shasore was born in Lagos Island, Lagos, 50 years ago to Taoheed Shasore, a diplomat, and Bilkis Oladoyinbo Adufe, a civil servant and businesswoman. He attended Christ Church Cathedral Primary School, Federal Government College, and Igbobi College, Yaba ─ all in Lagos. He earned a bachelor of law from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, in 1986 and a master of law from the University of Lagos in 1990. Although eloquent, Shasore has hardly been making public statements or organising political meetings despite the season.

Credit: thecable.ng