Gubernatorial aspirant Jimi Agbaje has revealed why he declined the offer from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to become deputy governor of Lagos in 2007.
The pharmacist and politician who was once a member of ACN had unsuccessfully contested to become Lagos State Governor on many occasions.
In 2007, he left the party to run for Lagos State governorship on the platform of the Democratic Peoples’ Alliance (DPA).
In an interview with Chude Jideonwo, Agbaje said that Tinubu-led ACN had asked him to give up his ambitions as governor and become the deputy to another party candidate for the Lagos elections.
“In 2007, before I left the ruling party (Action Congress of Nigeria), I was offered the deputy governor post, and I was told I couldn’t be the governor,” he said.
“I asked them, ‘to whom?’, and of course they said, ‘to this person. And I said ‘but we are in the same senatorial district’.
“And the answer was ‘we have worked that out, we will say you’re from this other senatorial district’.
“But then, my attitude was ‘why not change it around and let the person who you want to be governor say he’s from that senatorial district’.
“I’m saying this to say that it’s not about just power for the sake of it. Because then, I could have been deputy governor.”
Recall that Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) had won the governorship candidate of the ACN in 2007 and went on to win the election.
Also during the interview, Jimi Agbaje said he had always wanted to be like Peter Obi.
Agbaje said what impressed him most about the former governor was his leadership style.
Obi, who was the former PDP vice presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, was also Anambra state governor from 2007 to 2014.
“He had always been my best governor even when I didn’t know him.
“I’ve always said that this was my best governor. He’s been the kind of governor I would want to be. He tried to be himself. He was there for service, not self,” he said.
