News
Jandor declares bid for Lagos gov’ship race
Abdul-Azeez Adediran, known as Jandor and the lead visionary of the Lagos4Lagos Movement, has expressed his intent to contest for Lagos State governor in the upcoming election, aiming to foster broader participation in governance and progress.
The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial hopeful shared this during a Sunday interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
He clarified that his pursuit goes beyond personal goals, focusing instead on a collective blueprint for Lagos’s advancement.
READ ALSO: Jandor a little rat, one word from me, he won’t walk in Lagos street – George
“It is about stewardship, about building a Lagos where opportunity, innovation, and prosperity are accessible to all,” Adediran said.
He indicated his interest in challenging incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s position to bolster responsibility, openness, and effective public service.
Adediran stressed his commitment to party authority, pledging to align his goals with the party’s choices for the 2027 polls.
He noted that his group is committed to supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) in securing victories and fulfilling promises to Lagos residents.
He added: “Today, we are in APC and we are happy to return home where we belong. In 2023, I ran for the topmost office in the state.
“I was on the ballot, not an accidental candidate. I picked the ticket to be governor in 2023 of a major political party, which is the PDP, and we have not departed from that path.
“I am also here in APC to continue where we stopped. I am running. I’m running in 2027 for governorship in Lagos state.
“We will subject ourselves to the internal democracy of the party in APC, and whatever the party decides, we’re going to work for the party. I am running for governor of Lagos state in 2027 under APC.”
Regarding the PDP’s declining influence, Adediran pointed to shortcomings in leadership, violations of party rules, and lack of discipline as key factors plaguing the once-dominant entity in Lagos.
He asserted that no credible contender should remain affiliated with the PDP, given the prevalence of disloyal actions among its figures without repercussions.
Nevertheless, Adediran acknowledged that the APC would remain vigilant toward rival groups, such as the ADC-led alliance, ahead of 2027.
“So if what happened in 2023 in Lagos was anything to go by (where the Labour Party defeated President Bola Tinubu in his home state during the presidential election), as politicians, we don’t leave anything to chance.
“As a politician, you expect the expected, even the unexpected.
“As a good politician, you must look at your opposing camp twice and try to know what they are doing and know how to tackle it,” he added.
Adediran maintained that the APC’s position in Lagos has strengthened since 2023.
He predicted it would be challenging for the PDP or other challengers to prevail in any Lagos election currently.
“Don’t forget, in 2023, we (Lagos4Lagos Movement) were not in APC—we were outside—but now we are back home.
“Unlike other political parties, nobody is leaving APC today; rather, people are coming in more. So, the party is more formidable.
“As far as Lagos state is concerned, the victory of APC is going to be seamless in 2027,” he added.
Adediran confirmed that the Lagos4Lagos Movement’s network remains solid across all 57 local government areas, ready to back the APC.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
-
News6 days agoBREAKING: Mystery death! *Female student dies a day after arriving Umahi’s home!
-
News6 days agoDon’t jump to conclusion! *Umahi speaks on mysterious death of female students!
-
News3 weeks agoBREAKING: Court sentences Nigerien, two others to death over terrorism
-
News2 weeks agoBREAKING: EX-SSG mowed down by gunmen! *He resisted being kidnapped – driver
-
News4 weeks agoTwo hours after Igboho’s ‘red-eyes’ to ‘Fulani’ leaders, gunmen free kidnap victims!
-
News4 weeks agoAbductors of Oyo teachers panicking, freedom coming for victims soon!
-
News2 days agoBREAKING: Terrorists strikes another school! *Kidnap principal, students, NECO official!
-
News4 weeks agoChicagogate: Nigerians return to court! *Move to stop Tinubu from 2027 polls