Why Sanwo-Olu defeated me, others in 2023 —JANDOR

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 governorship election in Lagos State, Dr Abdulazeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as JANDOR, on Tuesday explained why Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu won re-election, defeating him and other contestants. He attributed the Governor’s victory to his warmth, gentleness, and ability to remain calm in the face of attacks and provocation.

The former governorship candidate made this revelation while speaking with journalists during a courtesy visit to Lagos House, Ikeja, following a closed-door meeting with Governor Sanwo-Olu, which he described as “fantastic.”

“Mr Governor is very warm. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – he is truly a gentleman. There was nothing I didn’t do to provoke him. I poked and poked. But he remained calm throughout.

“This is one of the reasons he retained the governorship of Lagos State. I appreciate him, and I want to thank him for the warm reception, as well as all members of his cabinet. I also thank the party leadership, especially the chairman, who led this delegation. Thank you, Mr Governor,” he said.

JANDOR explained that the purpose of the meeting was to officially inform Governor Sanwo-Olu of his return to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the opposition PDP, and to explore how stakeholders could consolidate their political strength to ensure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

“I’m sure it’s no longer news that JANDOR has returned to his original political family. I made that announcement about a month ago. We also had a formal declaration at the local government level, which is the proper thing to do after rejoining the party. That event took place on Friday.

“The next step was to pay a courtesy visit to the number one citizen of the state and inform him officially of my return. So, today, I am here with a few members of my team to meet with the state governor and update him on the progress we’ve made in the process of returning to the APC,” he stated

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JANDOR expressed confidence that his return to the APC would strengthen the party and boost its prospects in upcoming elections, particularly with regard to securing a second term for President Tinubu in 2027.

“I’ve said this repeatedly – we are joining our numerical strength with that of the party to bolster its chances of winning.

“We all know what happened during the last election. The house was divided. But now, we are united again. Our goal is to use our combined strength to mobilise the younger generation and work towards returning Mr President to office in 2027, so that the baton can eventually be passed to the next generation,” he said.

“I’ve said it many times – if we make the mistake of allowing another from his generation to take the reins, we may be looking at another eight, if not sixteen, years of waiting. So, we are determined to do everything within our power to campaign vigorously for him and highlight his efforts in providing Nigeria with stability for the first time,” he added.

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