Neusroom Lists 10 Candidates It Is Endorsing For 2019 Elections
In only a number of days, Nigerians will head to the polls to chose the public office holders who will represent them for the next four years. With over fifteen thousand candidates vying for different posts across the presidency, states and houses of assembly, the field has never been this crowded. For many voters, this presents a daunting challenge: who to vote for.
Neusroom here narrows down to ten candidates which we endorse.
Bankole Wellington; MDP Eti-Osa Federal Constituency, Lagos
Known by his moniker Banky W, the 37-year-old musician, actor and entertainment executive followed up his many years of using his platform for social causes by throwing his hat into the ring. For years he has called for youth engagement and participation in politics and eventually joined Modern Democratic Party (founded by Bukunyi Olateru-Olagbegi) and is seeking to represent Eti-Osa Constituency at the House of Representatives.
Wellington is running against nine other candidates. However, his actual opponent is Jide Obanikoro, son of lifelong politician Musiliu Obanikoro. Like his father, the younger Obanikoro has traversed across different parties, not on the basis of any ideology but depending on the ruling party. His return to the ruling APC after contesting under the PDP umbrella in the last cycle earned him the ticket and has not explained why, apart from being familiar with the power brokers in Lagos, he is the right person to run. Banky W has talked the talk for many years. Now is the time for him to walk the walk.
Rinsola Abiola; ADP Abeokuta North/Odeda/Obafemi Owode Federal Constituency, Ogun
If the youth want to change politics by working and not just tweeting, they may have a few things to learn from Rinsola Abiola (26). Her family’s name is second to the work she has put in herself; perhaps it may even be an albatross- her father MKO Abiola had his presidential election stolen from him in 1993 and died in detention. So it may have been understandable if none of his children ever got involved in politics. Not Rinsola. Her determination to see young people, especially young women, being adequately represented led her to become the Public Relations Officer of the All Progressives Youth Forum (APYF), a youth support group for the All Progressives Congress. She also was the youngest person appointed to the APC Board of Trustees (22 at the time).
Her decision to resign from the ruling APC to take an ideological stand is not one that is common among young people who suddenly found themselves in the corridors of power. She resigned her membership of that party to run on APD. Her decision looks to have been justified as APC in Ogun State has been in tumultuous conditions that have seen factions and breakaway groups attack one another.
Rinsola on her part and kept her head down and taken her campaign directly to the people who she’s seeking to represent.
Babatunde Gbadamosi; APD Gubernatorial Candidate, Lagos
Mr Gbadamosi was easily the star of the Lagos Gubernatorial Debate that held a few weeks ago. Not only did he make the two leading candidates appear unprepared, but his arguments were also the most compelling. If debates were the only criteria for choosing a governor, Gbadamosi would be it. He seemed to have a grasp on the issues battling Lagos, ranging from traffic and waste management, housing, healthcare- and more importantly, he is unshackled from the godfatherism that many Lagosians have complained about in recent times. Although he has sought to win the PDP ticket in 2011 and 2015, he was unambiguous about his plans if he becomes the next governor of Lagos.
As one coming from the private sector, Gbadamosi is in possession of bold ideas (to use the tagline of the PDP candidate Jimi Agbaje) needed to run a state of the stature of Lagos in this 21st century. Unlike Agbaje, he does not have the unhelpful divisive legacy of the PDP to defend nor does he have to prove he’s not a stooge like APC’s Sanwo-Olu. And if the way his AMEN Estates- a highbrow, nearly autonomous property developments- are run, the state may be in competent hands.
Kingsley Moghalu, YYP Presidential Candidate
Moghalu is one of Nigeria’s best crop of professionals whose decision to run for the presidency based on the desire to use his decades-long experience of being an economist to help save the country from further decline. He comes with a polished resume and stands tall on many years of rich experience in economic policy and strategy development. In a time when Nigeria is practically bleeding from economic hardship and mismanagement from corruption and lack of direction, we could use the expertise of a president who knows how to weather the storm and improve the odds.
After joining the United Nations in 1992, Moghalu quickly grew in ranks from being appointed as the political affairs officer in the department of peacekeeping operations to redesigning the panel of the United Nations Internal Justice System. When he resigned from the UN in 2008, he returned to Nigeria and was appointed the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2009, and he served in that capacity until 2014.
Being close to the government and having a firsthand view of how the country was being run into oblivion, he decided to do something about it. So when it was time to act, Moghalu came out to run for president, and we believe he has all it takes to make a positive impact in the country if he’s elected.
Natasha Hadiza Akpoti; SDP Kogi Central Senatorial District
One would be forgiven for not ranking Kogi State highly; what with Dino Melaye’s endless antics and the unimpressive Governor Yahaya Bello. Nevertheless, Natasha Hadiza Akpoti appears to be a breath of fresh air that the state so desperately needs. Although the contest was initially thought to be between the APC and PDP (Yakubu Ocheni and incumbent Ahmed Ogembe), Akpoti’s entrance is a disruption of the status quo.
Disruption is something Ms Akpoti is familiar with. Since 2015, she has been a loud critic of the goings-on at the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Mill. In 2018, she spoke on the floor of the National Assembly during the debate on the state of the steel sector. As a result of her advocacy, the National Assembly began moves to set aside a one billion dollar fund to resuscitate the steel mill- a four-decade-long white elephant project. It is this type of representation that Kogi indigenes need, not the ostentatious show of wealth by their most famous lawmaker and governor.
Alex Otti, APGA Gubernatorial Candidate, Abia
The only reason Otti is not the incumbent governor of Abia State is that the Supreme Court reversed the verdict of the Court of Appeals which had earlier removed the sitting governor, Okezie Ikpeazu. Otti had taken the matter court after his party APGA seemingly defeated the PDP at the polls. But if there was any doubt that Otti should lead Abia State, Ikpeazu’s term as governor certainly removes it. Only this January, a debate that was billed to hold in Abia ended in a fiasco as the governor’s aides reportedly fired teargas and bullets to disperse a crowd. The history of unpaid salaries and pensions deterioration of infrastructure in the state is also a sore point that Otti hopes to exploit.
Before his foray into politics, Otti had been a banker for three decades; serving as the Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank.
Adebayo Adelabu, APC Gubernatorial Candidate, Oyo
The family name is quite known in Ibadan; the candidate’s grandfather, Adegoke Adelabu, was a political stalwart in Oyo State. Penkelemesi, as he was known in his lifetime, was an agitator for nationalism, becoming the opposition leader at the Western Region House of Assembly. His grandson, Adebayo, who was born twelve years after his death may not be an agitator; but among the thirty-nine aspirants contesting the governorship seat in Oyo State, he stands out as the best candidate.
His banking career started in 1992 with Price WaterHouse Coopers, and by the time he would retire from the Central Bank of Nigeria, he had risen to become the Deputy Governor, Operations- appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan no less. A major problem the state has is the inability to transcend the hamlet-level politicking and policy. Some of his main contestants at the poll include former governor Adebayo Alao Akala of the ADP and PDP’s Seyi Makinde. It would be difficult, seeing that citizens of the state still hold outgoing governor Abiola Ajimobi in high esteem, for these other candidates to secure the trust of all the peoples of Oyo State, especially when the history of PDP’s rule from 2003 to 2011 is still vivid in their memories.
Mao Ohuabunwa, PDP Abia North Senatorial District
If there’s one Senator that has taken the welfare of his constituents seriously in the past four years, Mao Ohuabunwa is definitely one of them. When he was elected into office, he promised the people of Abia North that his focus will centre on empowering them to become self-sufficient.
He launched a skill acquisition training program in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDAN) in 2017 to equip the youths and women with appropriate skills to improve their lives. After undergoing the training, the participants are each given N50,000 soft loan to get started. The program has yielded some positive results as the graduates have gone ahead to create small businesses in the state.
Mao is back in the race to secure his position in the Senate so that he can continue with the projects he began and we believe he deserves a second chance.
Aisha Alhassan – UDP Gubernatorial Candidate, Taraba
Aisha Alhassan, popularly known as Mama Taraba was pitched as the people’s favourite in the governorship polls of Taraba in 2015, but her mandate was allegedly denied as she lost out in the end. Although she was compensated with a role as the Minister of Women Affairs in President Buhari’s cabinet, she was determined to try again.
In September last year, Mama Taraba resigned from her position as the Minister of Women Affairs and quit APC. She subsequently picked up a UDP ticket to run for the highest position in the state and she’s up against a big hurdle in trying to surmount the current governor. Her dedication and strong will benefit the people of Taraba immensely
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivor, PDP Lagos West Senatorial District
At the age of 35, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour is making bold promises to the people of Lagos West Senatorial District. He has vowed to free them from political leadership that has failed them and to lobby for infrastructural development in the constituent. Looking at his background as an architect and a real estate developer, this proposal is something within his capacity and area of expertise.
After graduating from MIT in the USA, Gbadebo returned to Nigeria to work as an architect, writer and recently declared his intention to run for Lagos West Senatorial seat to help offer his community appropriate representation at the national level. If he’s given a chance, we have no doubt that he will bring a new perspective to the Senate and to the people of Lagos West.
