18th October, 2014
Eromosele Ebhomele
Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly in the western region of Nigeria on Saturday said among all those aspiring to govern the state in 2015, he remains the best.
Adeyemi Ikuforiji who stormed the state secretariat of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Acme Road, Ogba office with his aides and friends including the spokesman of the House, Segun Olulade, to pick his form for the governorship race, said by virtue of being the Speaker of the House for eight years, he qualifies as a good debater and one who understands the true meaning of governance.
The Speaker expressed confidence that he is the man to beat, arguing that, even members of the party who hold the aces in the state understood this.
“Go round the membership of the party, they know the best amongst the aspirants in the APC,” he told journalists at the party secretariat.
Ikuforiji, who did not rule out the possibility of a consensus candidate, stated that “as the Speaker of the House, we always come out top of any debate and the main business of the House is debating issues and if you are the one presiding over that, you should be a good debater.
“You talked of consensus candidate; it is all part of the game, there can be consensus candidate and we will not be the first. Even President Goodluck Jonathan is the consensus candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). So, there is nothing wrong in having a consensus candidate.”
Ikuforiji, while urging the residents of the state be patient with him to declare and see his programmes, he said his government would make education and health top priorities especially being an educationist himself.
Concerning his current travails in the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which has appealed a judgement in favour of Ikuforiji, the Speaker said: “the presiding judge made remarks and statements and I would implore you to get the papers of the judgment.
“If the EFCC wants to appeal the case or whatever, it is the business of EFCC; it is not my business.
“In the 100 years history of Nigeria, how many heads of governments submitted themselves to this kind of open persecution I experienced in the last three years in this state?
“If the EFCC received a petition from faceless people and they refused to investigate the petitioners, instead they descended on me and found out that all the three points raised in the petition were false, and they still went ahead in search of other things, what do you expect?
“It is clear, they know what they are doing, I hope we won’t have to go through all these again.
“I am ready, I am a man, I am the chief lawmaker of Lagos State over these years, I believe in the rule of law, I will at all times be ready to face whatever.
“Even if they appeal, having won all other judgments, be rest assured that the appeal will amount to nothing,” he stated.