2015: Battle for Lagos will not be a tea party – Odumakin

Mr Yinka Odumakin, the spokesman of the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, on Wednesday said the battle for the soul of Lagos State in the 2015 general elections would not be a tea party. Odumakin spoke in Lagos at a Colloquium organised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to x-ray 15 years of democratic rule in the state. He delivered a lecture entitled “2014 Democracy Day, a Platform on Governance in Lagos State”. Odumakin said that dividends of democracy in Lagos State had taken a plunge after the administration of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, a former governor in the state. According to him, governance in Lagos has become elitist in nature, denying the poor the basic infrastructure needs. “With the income of the state and the level of very low standard of living in many parts of the state, there is no doubt that the grassroots, Lagosians, are yet to be taken care of,” he said. Odumakin noted that in 15 years of democratic rule, there has yet to be an organised opposition party to challenge the party in power in the state. “The battle for the soul of the state in the forthcoming general election will not be a tea party. “I believe there are pieces of evidence to show that the time for change in leadership has come. “It is an opportunity the PDP must take up by organising the party better in order to win,” he said. Odumakin said that there was a need for change of power to enable the people judge which was better for them. According to him, the people in Lagos are complaining of the high cost of living in the state, which is one of the highest in the country. Meanwhile, in a communiqué read by the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Mr Taoffik Gani, the participants agreed on the need for change in the leadership in Lagos State. “For the change to take place, there is need for strong opposition to ensure power change,” the participants said. They harped on the need to liberate the people of Lagos from high cost of living and provide them with adequate housing and social amenities. The participants recommended that the PDP should look inward and change its strategies in order to win the 2015 polls and meet the aspirations of the poor in the state. They pointed out that Lagos state was strategic not only to the people of the state but to Nigeria; hence the need to get a leadership in 2015 that would cater for the needs of the masses.