Chief Bode George has described the endorsement of Babajide Sanwo-Olu by billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, as shocking.
Sanwo-Olu is the Lagos governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria’s governing party.
In September, journalist Dele Momodu announced to the world that Otedola was going to run for the office of Governor of Lagos on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“Breaking news: Lagos 2019 promises to be interesting. PDP offers Femi Otedola governorship ticket. He’s accepted and personally confirmed to The Boss newspaper”, Momodu shared on Twitter.
Otedola neither confirmed nor denied Momodu’s disclosure.
On Saturday, November 17, 2018, Otedola shared a picture on his Instagram where he was seen posing with Sanwo-Olu—a frontline governorship candidate ahead of the 2019 elections.
“Dinner at my residence yesterday evening with my childhood friend, APC governorship candidate, Jide Sanwo-Olu; the governor in waiting,” Otedola wrote.
That ringing endorsement of an opposition figure by a member of his party has understandably left George dazed and flummoxed.
“That is news to me. That is very interesting. Wonders will never cease. It is very shocking”, George who is a member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), told Punch newspapers.
Quizzed on what has become of Otedola’s rumoured governorship ambition, George stated, “He has always been with us (PDP). I will call him. I will find out that ‘Ki lo ri? Ki lo se? (What did you see? What did you do?)’ That is strange.”
George however said Otedola’s apparent volte face won’t affect the electoral dynamics of the PDP in Lagos.
“No, it doesn’t affect our strategies towards 2019 because he is not in our camp. But it is shocking. He is my aburo (junior) and I am going to find out from him what made him (endorse Sanwo-Olu).
“But he is a thoroughbred Lagosian and the people Bola (Tinubu) is handpicking are all from Ogun State. Is that what he wants for his state? I will ask him,”George was quoted as saying by Punch.
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