Why Opeifa Is Getting Plenty Of Mentions In Ex-Speaker Obasa’s Base

Kayode Opeifa, the new Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, is getting plenty of mentions in Agege and other areas of Lagos West.

Although Opeifa is also from Agege, former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, who hails from the same area, had over time muscled out opposition within and outside his party, turning the area into his political stronghold.

Opeifa, a former Lagos State Commissioner for Transport and ex-Vice Chairman and Team Leader of the Presidential Committee on Clearing Apapa Port and Access Roads during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, survived Obasa’s power expansion— which eliminated perceived threats— by staying off his radar.

However, Obasa’s removal from the influential position of Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly has changed the political dynamics.

As part of efforts to further whittle down Obasa’s far-reaching influence and dismantle his political structure, forces against the former Speaker are pushing for a new “power” in Agege.

And Opeifa, who was also a former House of Representatives aspirant (2007) and Senatorial hopeful (2023), is being mentioned as the chosen replacement.

There are persistent claims that he is being prepared and empowered to take Obasa’s place as the face of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Agege and its environs.

Opeifa’s ability to secure back-to-back appointments, even in the face of Obasa’s formidable influence, and his close ties to those backing the new Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mojisola Meranda, are being touted as strong telltale signs of his new positioning.