BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
Former Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party in Lagos State, Adedeji Doherty, has shared his thoughts on the emergence of popular actress, Funke Akindele as the running mate to the party’s governorship candidate, Olajide Adediran in the state ahead of the 2023 election.
Speaking with The Point about Akindele’s emergence, the PDP chieftain said he needed to be convinced about what made her the right choice for the position ahead of other qualified and deserving party members that can also attract enough votes and how he arrived at the decision.
Noting that she was qualified to be the running mate to the party’s candidate in the state, Doherty however stated that the governorship candidate did not consult him before making the decision and he wasn’t aware if he consulted party leaders either.
“He has the prerogative to pick a running mate and I believe he must have seen something in her that will add value to the party.
“I believe he must have consulted to a certain extent before making that decision. I was not part of that decision, so I cannot say the fundamentals of the decision or the characteristics or the points that he might have put in place for him to come to that decision.
“I can’t comment for now until I get to talk to him and he can now allay the fears of many of the party members as to why he has picked that particular person. This is not prejudiced to the fact that a person comes from Ikorodu. That doesn’t entirely negate the fact or make anything less to the fact that she comes from Ikorodu but the most important thing is for us to be able to get as many votes as we can.
“If her candidature in his own perspective, will increase the amount of votes the PDP gets at the polls, he needs to be able to present this to the leadership of the party, definitely I am inclusive. But for now, I haven’t gotten a blueprint or cogent reasons why it has to be Funke Akindele.
“You have quite a couple of people in the party that are politicians who have had their names all over the entire state and I believe they can also pull some kind of weight to the electorate. I know Funke Akindele has a lot of Twitter followers but I don’t know how that translates to election victory. Maybe he has some consultants that he might have put to the task to do this job, I’m not aware of it. I’d like to be educated more on it.
“That doesn’t mean she’s not, I mean, she’s a Lagosian, her father is from Ikorodu, born and bred in Lagos State, her profession is her profession. Politics is different, politics is about numbers and perception.
Let us see how this goes before I can really make a final decision but I’m still open to being convinced that he has made the right choice,” Doherty asserted.
Adediran aka Jandor, the Lead Visioner of the Lagos4Lagos Movement that officially defected en masse with his supporters from the ruling All Progressives Congress in January, picked Akindele from the Ikorodu division, saying she will add value to his candidacy.
“I am proud to present Barrister Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele as my running mate and the Deputy Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Lagos for the 2023 general elections. Together, we will serve and offer you a breath of fresh air,” Jandor said.
Akindele also in a video she shared on Tuesday on her official Instagram page explained that she accepted the position because it was a chance to liberate and improve the welfare of Lagosians “particularly the deprived youth, women, and the girl child.”
“My decision is not only to accept this huge responsibility but also to work tirelessly and complement Jandor’s burning desire to see our dear state of Lagos live up to its potential with the people as its immediate and direct beneficiaries,” she added.
The actress was chosen among a list of five nominees which included Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Kolwole Vaughan, Adenike Shobajo and Rasheed Teslim-Balogun, putting to rest weeks of speculation over his choice of his running mate.
Two of the nominees, Rhode-Vivour and Kolawole are from Lagos West, the same senatorial district with Jandor which was said to have reduced their chances of being chosen.
