Lagos East Senatorial seat: Ambode, Ikuforiji, Kasali, Alebiosu touted as possible replacement for Osinowo
Ayodele Olalere
The passing of Senator Bayo Osinowo, representing Lagos East Senatorial District, in the upper chamber, has thrown the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, into a scramble over who occupies the seat of the late Senator.
Aspirants are jostling for the vacant position while the various interest groups within the party are pushing the candidacy of their preferred candidates.
Therefore, as the countdown to the determination of who occupies the seat begins, it has become imperative to assess the gladiators in the race.
Constitutionally, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is saddled with the task of organising elections in Nigeria as well as announcing election dates, which cannot be earlier than 90 days after the demise of the late senator, recent events have shown that the election might not take place as expected.
Compounding the situation is the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, which has altered the programmes of the electoral body thereby resulting in putting on hold some of its engagements including elections.
One of such elections, which have been put on hold on hold, is the Bayelsa Central and Bayelsa West senatorial districts election.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan had declared the seats vacant in February, following the election of their occupants as governor and deputy governor of Bayelsa State but till date, election dates have not been announced by the INEC.
The Governor, Sen. Douye Diri represented Bayelsa Central while his deputy, Sen. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo represented Bayelsa West. As a result, political watchers have predicted a similar scenario in the conduct of bye-election in the Lagos East Senatorial District, except there is pressure from the constituency and the party, in this case, the APC.
Section IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) establishes the National Assembly, which has both the Senate and the House of Representatives. While the Senate consists of 109 members, the House of Representatives comprises 360 members. Their roles are to make laws for good governance, peace and welfare of the people while also serving as a check on the executive arm of government.
The late Senator Adebayo Osinowo, who represented the Lagos East Senatorial District died on Monday, June 15, 2020 due to complications from COVID-19 and was buried the same day at his Ijebu-Ode residence.
Since the passing of the lawmaker, party stalwarts have been jostling to take over his seat in the red chamber.
Though the party is still mourning the late senator popularly called ‘Peperito’, there are indications that leaders are already silently canvassing for different aspirants to fill the vacancy. Interested parties have been looking for a sellable candidate, who apparently will be without blemish, considering the anti-corruption posture of President Muhammadu Buhari.
From the side of the state chapter of APC, among prominent names on the list is Adeyemi Ikuforiji, a former speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly. Ikuforiji served as the speaker for 11 years and he represented Epe constituency.
However, some are of the opinion that whoever is to replace late Osinowo at the red chamber should not be from Epe, because the division through Ikuforiji had 11 years of the top job in the state legislature.
Another Epe man, the immediate past governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode, who is also being touted to take over the seat also hails from Epe and served for four years, so they argued that for equity sake it won’t be wise to parade another Epe candidate for the Senate seat.
This snag, as well as his case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has thrown spanner in the former speaker’s senatorial ambition.
Ikuforiji is presently defending a money laundering charge preferred against him by the anti-graft agency.
He has been charged before a Federal High Court in Lagos, over N338.8 million money laundering allegations, alongside his former Personal Assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi.
Apart from Ikuforiji, other names being mentioned are Dr. Tola Kasali and Chief Lanre Razak. Tola Kasali was a two-time state commissioner, a party chieftain who worked closely with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the APC national leader.
As a commissioner, Kasali’s performance was highly rated. He also had a shot at the governorship slot but was persuaded to step down for a consensus candidate of the party.
However, constituents have argued that age is not on the side of both Kasali and Razaq. They believe sending old men to the Senate might be counter-productive.
Most people in the district spoken to believe that the choice of either Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi or Dayo Bush-Alebiosu would be a plus for the zone, and an interesting contest.
A community leader in the zone who spoke on the condition of anonymity said a contest between Gbadamosi of People Democratic Party, PDP, and Dayo Bush-Alebiosu of APC would be very interesting as they are both young and experienced.
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Babatunde Gbadamosi who recently returned to the PDP was a former governorship aspirant of the party. Although going by the performance of the PDP during the last election, it would be convenient to rule out their chances during the bye-election. This, as declared by a PDP leader, provoked the decision of the party to bring Gbadamosi back to contest the seat. Princess Abiodun Oyefusi contested at the last senatorial election against Senator Osinowo.
Alebiosu on his side has very intimidating credentials, a wealth of political experience, and distinguished performance while at the National Assembly.
He was a two-term representative of Kosofe Federal Constituency, Lagos State, in the House of Representatives. He is an Architect by profession, a profession he actively practiced before being appointed as special assistant to the governor on Housing by the former governor of Lagos State.
He was elected in 2007 to represent Kosofe Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives and re-elected in 2011 and held the position till 2015. He has been able to proficiently combine the primary goal of representation for the enhancement and development of his constituents and the nation at large.
Alebiosu was elected and re-elected into parliament in 2007 and 2011 respectively, where he served till 2015.
In 2007, Alebiosu scored 100,000 votes, more than any elected representative in Nigeria. The dexterity and the lawmaking excellence of Bush manifested when he served as the pioneer Chairman of the House Committee on Treaties and Agreements; and also served as the Chairman of the Sub-Committee on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He also at several times served in different committees including National Security, Petroleum (Upstream), Gas Resources and Justice.
Alebiosu sponsored the House motion on the payment of adequate compensation for Dana Air Crash Victims in line with the Provision of Montreal Convention signed by Nigeria, sponsored the House motion on the Harmful Effects of Caffeinated Energy Drinks on Nigerian youth and the need for regulation of the manufacturing and importation into the Country.
As the Chairman House Committee on Treaties and Agreement, he was responsible for harmonizing the treaties entered into by Nigeria and for the resuscitation of several detrimental provisions in the Treaties. He also advocated renegotiation of the Green Tree Agreement involving Nigeria and Cameroon over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula in line with the Decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ceding Nigerian Territory to Cameroon.
Alebiosu also sponsored the motion on the investigation of the brutal ‘ALUU’ killing of four students of the University of Port Harcourt as disregard and gross violation of the fundamental Human Rights to Life and Fair hearing and Rule of Law entrenched by the 1999 Constitution, and many others.
Beyond all these, there has also been a valid argument that Kosofe should be made to continue the four-year term of the late Senator Osinowo, who was from Kosofe.
There was also the argument that someone with a rich legislative background and experience should be made to continue the term of Osinowo, not necessarily a starter who would spend time learning the ropes. This, they argued, may not augur well for the zone and the state in general.
