Revelation has emerged that a former Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode would have been the candidate of the Labour Party in the forthcoming governorship elections had he agreed to work with the presidential flag bearer of the party Peter Obi.
Multiple sources confirmed to our correspondent that the Labour Party conferred on Ambode the right of first refusal when it was shopping for a strong gubernatorial candidate as it planned to win in Lagos State but the former governor backed out of the deal.
Ambode is regarded as one of the best governors Lagos State has ever had but he became the first ruler of the state that failed to get a second term as the ruling All Progressives Congress denied him a ticket ahead of the 2019 election. Babajide Sanwoolu was selected as the flag bearer of the APC for the polls.
A source told 1steleven9jatv that the Labour Party was keen on providing a route for the former Governor to return to Alausa but despite the initial hopes the deal would materialise, Ambode eventually backed off.
1steleven9jatv.com can report that Peter Obi had initiated a negotiation with Ambode and the two former governors spoke on two occasions on the deal but efforts of the former Anambra governor to seal the deal were thwarted by Ambode who discontinued the negotiations.
“Peter Obi spoke with Ambode on two occasions, they agreed to continue the negotiation and put finishing touches to the deal but Ambode later backed off. People who are close to the former Governor tried to prevail on him to take the offer and challenge the ruling party in Lagos but he simply turned everybody down. It would have been a hot contest between him and Sanwoolu on Saturday and he could have even won the election given what happened last Saturday but nobody knows why he refused to take the ticket,” a source close to the former Governor told our correspondent.
Another source, a member of the APC who is a senior staff at the state headquarters of the party told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that the party was aware of the plot to bring Ambode to the contest by the Labour Party.
“APC was aware of such plans and it would have been a disastrous decision for the former Governor if he had taken the ticket because that could have been the end of him politically. He understands perfectly well why he can’t take the ticket as a former governor who understands how this party works,” the source said.
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, is contesting on the platform of Labour Party in Saturday’s governorship elections in Lagos State.