Governor accepts loss of APC's Lagos governorship ticket to Sanwo-Olu, praises party

Sanwo-Olu, a former commissioner, beat the incumbent in the APC's Lagos State governorship primary election that was conducted at all wards in all 20 local government areas of the state on Tuesday, October 2, 2018.

In Tuesday's election, Sanwo-Olu polled 970,851 votes, hundreds of thousands of votes more than Ambode's 72,901 votes.

Ambode conceded defeat during a press conference on Wednesday, October 3, and congratulated Sanwo-Olu over his victory and praised the party.

He said, "Dear Lagosians, APC is a great party and the interests of our beloved State must always supercede that of any person or group.

"It is in this regard that I wholeheartedly congratulate the winner of the Lagos State APC primaries, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and urge all Lagosians to immediately support our party's gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 elections and work for the success of the party."

The governor further noted that he is committed to working towards a smooth transition for the next governor of the state and beckoned on all party members to ensure the party is successful at the polls in 2019.

He said, "As Governor, I will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition in the remaining period of this administration and ultimately to the new Governor, come May 2019.

"I therefore appeal to all our party members that we remain one family and unite behind the candidate of the party, so that we can continue to move this state forward.

"The progress of Lagos state is non-negotiable. It is a project that I have passionately worked for in the last three and half years as your Governor and one to which I will forever be devoted."

Ambode also thanked the leadership of the APC including the party's national leader, Bola Tinubu, with whom he has fallen out of favour.

Controversy over primary election

The APC's national working committee (NWC) panel in charge of the election officially confirmed Sanwo-Olu's victory earlier on Wednesday, a day after it distanced itself from it.

In controversial fashion, the committee had previously cancelled the election on Tuesday, noting that it had not been in charge of its conduct and supervision as it should.

"We want a victory that will be credible, and will be in line with the guidelines and rules," Ebri said on Tuesday evening.

With confusion over the state of the election late on Tuesday, the Lagos State APC chairman, Tunde Balogun, announced the result of the election that the NWC already dissociated itself from.

Balogun announced, "I am aware that conflicting information has been circulating on our primary election, but I must tell you that the election was held and it was free and fair.

"It would be very painful to disenfranchise the over 1.5 million members who voted across the 245 wards in the state."

After a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari late on Tuesday, APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, dismissed the panel's cancellation of the election and directed the panel to make Sanwo-Olu's victory official.

"The election has been held, anyone who is aggrieved should complain after the declaration of results," he said.

On Wednesday morning, the committee chairman, Clement Ebri, affirmed Sanwo-Olu's victory.

"After resolving some of the hiccups, the Lagos State APC Governorship Primary Committee collated the results from the 245 wards in the 20 local government areas from the collating officers.

"At the end of the exercise, these are the votes scored by the aspirants: 1. Gov Akinwunmi Ambode, 72,901 votes. 2. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, 970,851 votes.

"Following these results, I, Clement Ebri, the Chairman of the Lagos State APC Governorship Primary Committee hereby declare Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the winner," he announced.

Sanwo-Olu vs Ambode

Ambode's monumental loss to Sanwo-Olu in Tuesday's election doesn't come as a surprise as he lost the backing of the entire party structure over the past three weeks leading to the election.

Sanwo-Olu recently shot to prominence after it emerged that he had been endorsed to become the next Lagos governor by Tinubu, a former Lagos governor and political godfather in the state who also handpicked Ambode just four years ago.

The relationship between Ambode and Tinubu reportedly soured over how he distanced himself from the party's ideals and the people that ensured his emergence as governor.

Tinubu's political structure in Lagos, Mandate Movement, as well as all 57 local councils in the state endorsed Sanwooluahead of the governorship primary election.

All efforts made by Ambode to get back in Tinubu's good graces including a last-minute intervention by President Buhari proved abortive as it was clear there was no turning back.

To make matters worse, Ambode spoke at a world press conference on Sunday, September 30, 2018, alleging that Sanwo-Olu was unfit for office because he'd allegedly been previously arrested for forgery in the United States. He also alleged that he had been to a hospital in Lagos for rehabilitation for an unspecified problem.

Ambode deviated from master plan - Tinubu

In his first public endorsement of Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu said Ambode's government has deviated from a master plan put together by a corps of dedicated and patriotic Lagosians for economic development that would improve the lives of people in the state.

He said Lagosians have suffered from the painful consequence of the improper departure by the current government and have reacted by prompting him as the leader to seek a new alternative.

Tinubu promised that Sanwo-Olu understands the importance of the blueprint and can be relied on for the future development of the state.