Politics
“Don’t Waste Your Money” – Insiders Tell Those Interested In Succeeding Adeola Yayi As Senator
insiders claim though the senatorial seat appeared “vacant”, it really is not.
Top-level players in the politics of Lagos state have words for those interested in succeeding Solomon Olamilekan Adeola as the Senator representing Lagos West.
The federal lawmaker with over 20years of experience as a state and federal lawmaker in Lagos state has concluded plans to become a Senator in Ogun State in 2023.
SocietyNow.Ng confirms his West2West campaign slogan is the most popular in Ogun state at present.
The development naturally makes the Senatorial seat of the 52yerar old politician popularly known as Yayi vacant and some of his party members in Lagos have started showing interest.
But insiders claim though the senatorial seat appeared “vacant”, it really is not.
“All things been equally Obanikoro will be the inheritor of that senatorial seat” SocietyNow.Ng learned.
Insiders disclosed that the former Senator for Lagos Central – 2003 to 2007 – already has the blessings of powerful politician Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Obanikoro was one of the original members of the Asiwaju political family before he defected to the opposition, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) based on lures of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo lured Obanikoro to the PDP as part of efforts to break the political backbone of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who was the Governor of Lagos state.
But Tinubu rather than break, the antagonism only strengthened the political might of Tinubu who championed the transformation of his regional party Alliance for Democracy into a more national oriented Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and later All Progressives Congress (APC)- merger with other political parties -that ended the 16years rule of Obasanjo’s PDP.
“What many don’t know is that after the initial disappointments and public disputes of betrayals, Obanikoro and Tinubu reconciled and renewed their friendship away from public glare” SocietyNow.Ng learned.
“That was why it was easy for him to declare interest in Yayi’s seat at the time his son, Babajide was fighting for the House of Representatives ticket of Eti Osa Federal constituency” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.
The younger Obanikoro secured the APC ticket and won the 2019 election to become one of the Federal House of Representatives members from Lagos.
Insiders insist that irrespective of whether Babajide Obanikoro is seeking re-election or not, his father remains in pole position to succeed Senator Adeola Yayi in 2023 as the candidate of the APC – all things equal.
This assertion is in the face of claims that Speaker of the Lagos state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa is eyeing the same senatorial position in 2023.
