Guber aspirant has been endorsed by stakeholders and elders in the land to succeeded Governor and l Babatunde Raji Fashola in 2015.
Oba Akiolu spoke on Thursday, May 15, 2015 at the launch of his biography, “The Art of Selfless Service,’’ written by Maria Osoba.
The book tells the story of Ambode and the need to leave a legacy that people can emulate.
At the event,Oba Akiolu urged other governorship aspirants of the APC to give Ambode a chance and all the support.
“When the APC leader, Bola Tinubu, chose Gov. Babatunde Fashola in 2007 to succeed him, it was met with stiff opposition but today Tinubu has been justified.We see a similar character like Governor Fashola in Ambode,’’
The monarch said that all other aspirants of the party are great but God and the elders have chosen Ambode.
“The APC can go ahead with their primaries but the elders of the state have met and agreed that Ambode should be the next governor of Lagos.’’ He also vowed that over his dead body would he he allow a non Lagosian, like one of the APC candidates whose dad is an Oba in Ewekoro, Ogun state to be Governor.(He was apparently referring to the Commissioner for Works,Femi Hamzat).
In his speech, Ambode said he was guided in life by the lessons he learnt from his father to be selfless.
“Today, I have a Lagos dream that we can share together".
Ambode, who worked in the Lagos State public service for 27 years, said he was properly mentored by Tinubu and Fashola.
He was Permanent Secretary, State Treasury Office, Ministry of Finance when he retired in August 2012.
The APC guber hopeful Ambode was born at Epe General Hospital, Epe in Lagos State on June 14, 1963 as the sixth child in a family of 10 children, according to the book.
The Art of Selfless Servuce chronicles the challenging times Ambode went through and which shaped his life.
Many traditional rulers in the state and some chieftains of the APC were present at the launch.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,has described Akiolu’s endorsement of Ambode as undemocratic.The Lagos State Chairman of the PDP, Tunji Shelle, said in a release that it was unfair on other political parties for the Oba to endorse an aspirant of a particular party.
“As a traditional ruler, we had expected the Oba to give his blessings to all aspirants and parties and allow the peoples’ choice to emerge as governor of the state,”Shelle said.
Oba Akiolu's statement has also been generating serious criticism in the polity as many think it amounts to imposing a candidate on over 20 million Lagosians.
Ambode's book launch was not attended by his political opponents.His Godfather Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Fashola and the other influential rulling Lagos political class were conspicuously absent at the book presentation.
Similarly, political anaysists told THIS EVENING NEWS that Ambode's handlers may have goofed in exposing him so early in the race to Lagos Oval office.They predicted that this blunder will likely expose him and geopardize his guber ambition.
The APC leadership zoned the office of the Governor to Lagos East and a Christian.
Ambode is from Epe, Lagos East. He is also a Christian.See pix, pls.
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