Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that he would be his own man if elected governor of the state.
Mr Sanwo-Olu said this on Saturday in response to questions from newsmen on the influence of the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, in the choice of governors of the state.
“At 53? Certainly, I am and I will be my own man as governor. I appreciate all the support and endorsements of the party structure. I also think that happened because they know me, they know what I have done, my contribution in government, out of government and all the various things that I’ve done, that’s why they’re supporting me.
“This same question of if I will be my own man is a reference to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who is our leader. It is important to say that Asiwaju has never had any negative influence on his two successors. He is always about the development of Lagos. If anything else, he pushes us to be better than what we have done in Lagos,” Mr Sanwo-Olu said.
There have been concerns that Tinubu’s successors (Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode) were cowed to bow to the whims of the party leader.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the state, Jimi Agbaje, also leveraged on this in his campaign to “set Lagos free.”
But Sanwo-Olu further said: “He (Tinubu) is my leader and a father figure. I will be lying if I say I will not take advice from him. I will seek his wise counsel and guidance, just like I will take advice from Alhaji Lateef Jakande and anyone who has had the privilege of leading the state from when Lagos was created 52 years ago. They all have rich experiences in the leadership and governance of the state. They say experience is the best teacher.
“Nobody is in bondage in Lagos. This man (Agbaje) you’re talking about comes out every four years to contest as governor, yet he talks about freedom. Let me ask where Mr Jimi Agbaje was when his party, the PDP, held Lagos state revenue for over two years.
“So, there was no cry for freedom in Lagos when the PDP-led Federal Government failed to grant approvals for developmental projects. There was no cry of freedom when Lagos had issues with securing the right of way for Redline rail project from Agbado to CMS for six years and PDP refused to grant it…”
