The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is doing well in Lagos state, saying he has no plan to contest Lagos State governorship seat after his tenure in 2023.
The lawmaker emphasised that there is no need to discontinue Sanwo-Olu from running for second term in office.
Gbajabiamila spoke on Tuesday in an interview aired on Channels TV monitored by The PUNCH.
The Speaker affirmed his belief that the All Progressives Congress has all its takes to win the 2023 election. “I think the APC has all it takes and will still do well in the next election,” he said.
When asked whether he has any plan to become the Governor of Lagos State in the next election, Gbajabiamila said, “No, I don’t have any such plan; I have no immediate plan, I have a job that I am doing now, a very tough job, sometimes the most difficult job but people don’t understand.
“I don’t want distractions. I am working as the Speaker of the House of Representatives with a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders right now, any other thing will be a distraction.
“As for Lagos State Governorship, not even thought about it and why? The present governor of Lagos State is doing a good job.
The fact that we had a one-term governor at one time does not mean it is going to be the same. The governor is doing a good job under the circumstances – these are difficult times in the last two years and he’s come out well.
“We’ll see what the future holds for everybody…we leave everything in the hands of the person that decides the future for everybody.”
Some federal lawmakers including former House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto State Governor), have left the lower assembly to become governors in their home states.
Gbajabiamila has been in the green chamber since 2003 representing Surulere I Constituency of Lagos State. He became the Speaker of the House in 2019. He is one of the loyalists of APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu.
Since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, governors in the state had enjoyed two terms of four years each in office with the exception of Akinwunmi Ambode who was governor between 2015 and 2019.
Before Ambode who was kicked out due to intra-party squabbles, the current Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, was Lagos governor from 2007 to 2015 while Tinubu was governor from 1999 to 2007.
Though political permutations have earnestly begun ahead of the 2023 elections, Sanwo-Olu, who was elected governor in 2019, has not declared his intention to run for second term in office.
