Former governor of Ekiti State Ayodele Fayose says Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has performed in a way that has disproved the predictions of those involved in Nigeria’s economic hub.
On Wednesday, Fayose made this statement at the state capital’s Ikeja GRA Network of Roads commissioning.
A PDP chieftain living in Ikeja GRA, Fayose, praised the Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) government for giving the state capital the same standing as the affluent Ikoyi neighbourhood.
“We now call this location our own Ikoyi.” Fayose said, “You and your deputy have converted GRA to Ikoyi GRA.”
The former governor of Ekiti also said that, despite being a PDP member, he will back Biodun Oyebanji, the current APC governor, in his bid for reelection in 2026.
“I am one Nigerian who will not say what I don’t mean, even if they kill me,” Fayose declared. “I’ll say it. Let me state once more that I am not an APC member. I will not deny that what is good is good, even though I am not and never will be an APC member.
“There were a lot of people who were sceptical when your nomination was announced roughly six years ago, but you have shown me and other bookmakers to be mistaken. All of the bookmakers, you have disproved our assertion that what matters most is what is inside the item, not the colour of the pack.
“You brought everyone together like my governor in Ekiti, Oyebanji, brought everyone together.
“You are a different kind of politician. I usually tell everyone who will listen that even though I belong to the PDP, I will vote for Oyebanji in the upcoming election. It is about Oyebanji’s identity, not politics.”
Sanwo-Olu promised to expand infrastructure development throughout the state’s 20 local government districts. He declared, “No area of the state will be left unaffected or unaccounted for.”
Sanwo-Olu’s journey to become governor of Lagos in 2019 was rocky since he had to run against Akinwunmi Ambode, the incumbent governor who ran for reelection and won over many Lagos residents with his signature infrastructure. Sanwo-Olu defeated Ambode in the party’s primary and went on to win the state’s 2019 governorship election with the support of Lagos powerbroker Bola Tinubu. Later, in 2023, he was elected again.
