IS SUPO SHASORE THE MAN TO GIVE AKINWUNMI AMBODE A RUN FOR HIS MONEY IN LAGOS COME 2019?

Akinwunmi Ambode

Olasupo Shasore

Come 2019 in Lagos, the centre of Excellence (some say state of aquatic excellence) is going to be very very interesting. That year which is only a few more months away is when the elections would happen again. It would be interesting in that the fight to retain 2 major positions in the polity are going to be interesting and these 2 positions are that of the President of the country and that of the Governor of our beloved state, Lagos.

Interestingly also again, both states are under the rulership of the same party the APC. While the Federal Government under President Muhammad Buhari GCFR as been bashed rather badly on all sides by both the opposition, his own party and his family (wife), Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on the otherside has enjoyed relatively a lot of kudos from everyone and everywhere for doing a yore man's job and the testaments for an extraordinary job(s) well done liters the whole state on all corners. We can saw very loudly and bodly that, there's no Local Government Area in Lagos that have not felt the magic of tge man called Ambode. And more testaments, from the looks of things would begin to pour in, in torrents also, like an unstoppable avalanche, like a flood in a tempest, to sweep all off their feet for good all through the year till 2019 and even beyond. Some of the projects embarked upon have been mind-blowing and unprecedented in the history of Lagos and Nigeria and as they are finished and launched they would leave mouth agape in wonderment.

Can anyone from Epe possibly vote for another to replace Ambode, this is after the mind boggling transformation he has brought to that part of Lagos, that those in that area are willing to testify to at any given time? Would anyone or anybody for that matter in Alimosho vote for any other, after the obvious transformation Ambode has brought to bear in that axis alone on road repairs and development? There are other areas we haven't mentioned yet and other projects that would be launched systematically from now till 2019 nearly on a per monthly basis for all to see.. Is it about roads built and are still been built all around Lagos? Is it about what was spent to boost security and safety with tangible evidence available for all to see? What about those ingenious lay-bys? The light up Lagos is totally unbelievable to say the least! Even the opposition in Lagos have become comatose quiet! What about that well funded very obvious Rescue unit (LRU). That world class Ikeja Bus Terminus, one out of severals is astonishing! And there are still more things to point at.

But has this Governor and Government done enough to totally endear them to the people to stick out their neck again for them for a 2nd round, 2nd time, 2nd term, come 2019? We do emphatically think  so. Let some of the on going projects get finished and launched and come ask the question again afterwards.

So is Supo Shasore, the eminent legal practitioner going to run as been speculated? He has not declared officially his intention for now, so we don't know yet, things as at now are just based on mere speculations. Would this friend and supposed very close ally of the former action Governor of Lagos State, in the person of the current Minister for Works, Housing and Power, Honourable Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN run against his former colleague in Government in the person of the incumbent? We don't know yet. On which party platform would he want to prosecute this his tall ambition, if and whenever he declares it? We don't also know. This is because as at the last time we checked, he was a member of the same party, the APC as the Governor or maybe things have since changed and he is now a member of another party in the opposition! Would the endorsement of Governor emeritus, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu count for something in the coming battle? Who else, if not Ambode would ASIWAJU give his full and unflinching support and loyalty to?

Supo Shasore, the eminent SAN was the attorney general of Lagos State from 2007 till 2011 in the administration of Babatunde Raji Fashola, he was one of those technocrats BRF brought on board to dazzle Lagos as at that time. And he gave a good account of himself in the ministry he was in charge of, he was later somewhat promoted as the preferred candidate of the then outgoing BRF who had thought it was his job to pick his own successor, but he (Supo Shasore) seemingly lost out to the intrigues that arose from who ASIWAJU supported and didn't or who the godfather preferred for the position of Governor.

What would Supo Shasore be likely to want to bring on board that Akinwunmi Ambode does not have? Intellectual capacity wise, both men are at par. Whilst Shasore is a brilliant legal practitioner who has risen enviably to the pinnacle of his profession by becoming a SAN & owning his own chambers, and is currently a partner at African Law Partners, a super reputable law firm. Ambode is a super brilliant accountant, who also rose to the pinnacle of the profession by becoming the auditor general of Local government in his state at a point, he later went on to become the Permanent Secretary Finance Lagos State, then later rose to become the Accountant-General in Lagos State, not forgetting that he graduated from the University with a first class degree. He was an honours student as a secondary school student (FGGC Warri) with one of the best results in West Africa. While Shasore as acquitted himself in private and public practice, Ambode has shown his class as a public administrator at all levels imaginable, from Local Government administration till he rose to become the Chief Executive of the most prominent and richest state in Nigeria, richer than many of the other states combined. Presiding over an economy that is bigger than most of all West African states combined.

Mano a mano (Man-on-man) can Ambode take on Shasore without any help from anywhere, especially if no inteference or support from any godfather (BAT or BRF),.. ....Yes!most definitely yes! The only advantage that Supo Shasore might have over Akinwunmi Ambode now is just that he is blessed more with the gift of eloquence. Both men are 54 years old, with Ambode slightly older by about 5 plus months.

So should the supporters of Ambode be worried with the seeming emergence of Supo Shasore as a candidate in the next election? Most definitely no, unless of course if Ambode should lose the tacit support of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, thr National leader of his party, maybe then a bit of worry should begin to set in. It was during the adminstration of Asiwaju that Ambode was the Accountant General, when and where he showed his mettle meritoriously. Also maybe if the Governor would initiate some major anti-people actions which might shift the people's support away from him, unless these 2 major issues, he seems to have captured for good the mindset of the people who are in the majority to vote him in for the next election, for a 2nd term which some have already tagged well deserved.

The bigger question now though is if truly Senator Remi Tinubu is going to become the next deputy Governor of Lagos State? Also how would Senator Musiliu Obanikoro be accomodated in the next election? Lastly, does Senator Ashafa still have the full support of Asiwaju to go again for the Senate? What's also the lot of Senator GOS in the whole scheme of things come 2019? Now that Dr. Muiz Banire is seen as a renegade sort of, what's his future in the APC going to be like?