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
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.
According to Agbaje, “there is no excuse why trucks should litter the streets of Lagos and cause unnecessary hardship for citizens. If we can take them out for the president, we sure can take them out for the people”.
Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu
53-year-old Sanwo-Olu is the governorship candidate of the APC in Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu was a renown banker before politics and a life in public office came calling.
Between 1994 and 1997, he served as Treasurer at former Lead Merchant Bank Plc.
Sanwo-Olu was also Head, Foreign Money market and Deputy General Manager at United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Sanwo-Olu was also Deputy General Manager, Divisional Head, at First Inland Bank, Plc (now First City Monument Bank).
In 2003, then Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro appointed Sanwo-Olu his Special Adviser on Corporate Matters.
In 2007, as the Tinubu era wound to a close, Sanwo-Olu was appointed Commissioner for Commerce and Industry.
Between 2007 and 2015, Sanwo-Olu served as Babatunde Fashola’s Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions.
He is a pioneer and board member of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund and Managing Director of the Lagos State Property Development Commission (LSPDC).
Sanwo-Olu’s development agenda for Lagos is predicated on 5 pillars called THEME where:
T=Traffic management and Transportation
H=Health and Environment
E=Education and Technology
M=Making Lagos a 21st century economy
E= Entertainment and Tourism
Sanwo-Olu has promised to “reduce traffic congestion by resolving key gridlock points within 6 months, continuously fix all potholes and maintain our roads all year round, provide intelligent transport systems to optimize the transport network, provide appropriate incentives for ISPs to implement a broadband rollout for affordable internet access to businesses and homes across Lagos within two years”.
A godson of Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu has told everyone who cares to listen that he will be his own man if elected Lagos Governor.